PROCEEDINGS 


OF     11  IK 


WESTERN  BAPTIST 


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HELD    IN    THE 


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May  24  AND  25,   1S71. 


PUBLISHED    BY  THE   CONVENTION. 


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PROCEEDINGS 


OF   THE 


WESTERN  BAPTIST 


Educational  Convention, 


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FIRST  BAPTIST  CHURCH,  CHICAGO, 


May  24  AND  25,  1871.              Y 

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NOTE. 

The  reports  of  addresses  made  during  the  session  of  the 
Convention  are  for  the  most  part  copied  from  the  columns  of 
"The    Standard." 


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PROCEEDINGS 


OF    THE 


WESTERN   BAPTIST 

EDUCATIONAL    CONVENTION. 


FIRST    DAY'S    PROCEEDINGS. 


MORNING    SESSION. 

The  Western  Baptist  Educational  Convention  assembled  in  the 
First  Baptist  Church,  Chicago,  at  nine  o'clock,  and  was  called  to 
order  bj'  the  Secretary  of  the  American  Baptist  Educational  Com- 
mission, Rev.  S.  S.  Cutting,  D.D. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  Visitors  and  Delegates  present : 

I  ROLL   OF  VISITORS  AND   DELEGATES. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

Visitors. — Rev.  W.  H.  Eaton,  D.D. ;  Rev.  C.  H.  Richardson. 

VERMONT. 
Visitors. — Rev.  Narcisse  Cyr;  Rev.  C.  F.Nicholson. 

\  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Visitors.— Rev.  B.  F.  Bronson,  D.D. ;  Rev.  S.  W.  Foljambe,  D.D. ;  Rev. 
C.  F.  Foster;  Rev.  Alvah  Hovej,  D.D.  ;  Rev.  W.  B.  Thompson;  Rev.  James 
Upham,  D.D. 

RHODE    ISLAND. 

,      Visitor.— Rev.  S.  L.  Caldwell,  D.D. 

>  CONNECTICUT. 

Visitors. — Rev.  Amasa  Howard;  Wm.  J.  Leonard;  Rev.  S.  D.Phelps, 
^  D.D. ;  Rev.  Robert  Turnbull,  D.D. 

NEW   YORK. 

Visitors.— Pres't  M.  B.  Anderson,  LL.D. ;  W.  F.  Benedict;  J.  C.  Corn- 
ing; H.  M.  Congar;  J.  Durfey;  Cyrus  W.  Hatch;  Rev.  L.  P.  Judson ;  John 
A.  Pearson;  Rev.  Wm.  Rees ;  Smith  Sheldon;  James  M.  Sutherland;  W. 
Sutherland ;  Charles  Truax. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

Visitors. — Rev.  W.  H.  Parmeley,  D.D.;  Hon.  P.  P.  Runyan;  Rev.  D. 
H.  Miller,  D.D. ;  Rev.  Joseph  Banvard,  D.D. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 
Visitors.— H.  G.  Weston,  D.D. ;  Rev.  W.  S.  Goodno. 


I  I  47908 


4  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

SOUTH    CAROLINA. 
Visitors.— Rev.  E.  T.  Winkler,  D.D.;  Hon.  Wm.  E.  Wording,  LL.D. 

LOUISIANA. 
Visitor. — Rev.  R.  R.  Whiitier. 

OHIO. 

DELEGATES. 

Denison  Univerm'tv. — President  Samson  Talbot,  D.D. ;  Rev.  A.  H.  Strong 
D.D. ;  Rev.  L  N.  Carman;  E.  Thresher;  Rev.  N.  A..  Read. 

Baptis^t  Education  Society. — Rev.   D.   A.    Randall;    Rev.   D.    Shcpardson 
D.D. ;  Rev.  Marsena  Stone,  D.D. ;  Prof.  J.  Stevens;  J.  H.  Tangerman. 
Mt.  Auburn  7'ouiig  Ladies  Seminary. — Rev.  J.  C.  C.  Clarke. 

vrsiTOKS. 
Rev.  F.  L.  Chappell;  James  L.  Cox;  Rev.  F.  A.  Douglass;  C.  R.Dunbar 
Rev.  J.  Huntington;  Rev.   Reuben  Jeffery,  D.D. ;  Rev.    C  D.  Morris;  Rev 
E.  A.  Taft. 

MICHIGAN. 

DELEGATES. 

Kalamazoo  Collcc^c. — President  Kendill  Brooks,  D.D. ;  Hon.  Caleb  Vai 
Husen  ;   Rev.  Geo.  W.  Harris;  Rev.    II.  L.  Morehou>e ;   Rev.  A.  E.  Mather 

Kalamazoo  Theological  Seminary. — Rev.  Samuel  Graves,  D.D. ;  Rev.  J 
Donnellv,  Jr.;  Rev.  James  F.  Hill;  Rev.  T.  Z.  R.Jones;  Rev.  Andrew  Ten 
br^ek;  Rev.  T.  M.  Shanafelt. 

Michigan  Baptist  Education  Society. — H.C.  Briggs;  Rev.  A.  Owen;  Rev 
E.  J.  Fish  ;   Rev.  L.  C.  Pattengill. 

FeutoH  Seminary, — ^J.  Cranston;   Rev.  L.  Wadney. 

VISITORS. 

Rev.  F.  B.  Cressey;  Rev.  James  S.  Cox;  Rev.  J.  Mathews;  Prof.  Edwar< 
Olney;  H.  B.  Taft;"  Rev.  O."  D'.  Taylor. 

INDIANA. 

DELEGATES. 

Franklin  College.— Vvusident  H.  L.  Wayland,  D.D.  ;  Rev.  O.  Ayer;  Rev 
J.  S.  Boyden  ;  Rev.  Wm.  Elgin;  Rev.  A.  J.  Essex;  Rev.  L.  D.  Robinson 
Rev  J.  R.  Stone. 

Crozvfi  Point  Institute. — Rev.  T.  H.  Ball. 

VISITORS. 

Rev.  A.  A.  Carpenter;  E.  K.  Chandler;  .\.  B.  Chapin;  Rev.  J.  C.  Fernald 
Rev.  D.  S.  French;  Rev.  Geo  E.  Leonard;  Rev.  F.  Mace:  Rev.  O.  P.  Meek 
Rev.  J.  J.  W.  Place  ;  Rev.  T.  Reese  ;  Rev.  H.  Smith  ;  Rev.  Silas  Tucker,  D.D 

ILLINOIS. 

DELEG.\TES. 

Illinois  Baptist  Education  Society. — Prof.  Washington  Leverett;  H.  N 
Kendall. 

Shurilef  College.— Kev .  J.  Bulkley,  D.D.;  Rev.  N.  M.  Wood,  D.D. ;  Pro 
O.  Howes. 

University  of  Chicago. — Prof.  J.  W.  Stearns;  Rev.  Charles  Button. 

Baptist  Theoloirical  Seminary. — President  G.  W.  Northrup,  D.D.  ;  A.  N 
Arnold,  D.D. ;  E.'^C.  Mitchell,  D.D. ;  R.  E.  Pattison,  D.D. 

Baptist  Theoloirical  Union.— C.  N.  Holden;  J.  E.  Tyler;  W.  W.  Everts 
D.D. ;   Edward  Goodman;   G.  S.  Bailey,  D.D. 

Almira  Co/Z^^e.— President  J.  B.  White;  Rev.  J.  Cole. 

VISITORS.  . 

Rev.  W.  W.  Ames;  Rev.  E.  N.  Archibald;  Rev.  J.  M.  Gregory,  LL.D. 
Rev.  F.  E.  Arnold;  Rev.  J.  Y.  Aitchison  ;  Rev.  L.  C.  Bates;  L.  T.  Bush 
James  P.  Cadman;  Rev.  T-  Cairns;  Charles  Carlstadt;  Rev.  D.  F.  Carna 
han;  Rev.  C.  W.  Clark;  Rev.  T.  C.  Clcndenning;  Rev.  J.  D,  Cole,  D.D. 


EDUCATIONAL    CONVENTION.  5 

Rev.  R.  R.  Coon ;  Rev.  C.  T.  Emerson ;  Rev.  Henry  L.  Field ;  Rev.  M.  L. 
Fuller;  Rev.  E.  A.  Gastman;  Rev.  William  Green;  Rev.  W.  M.  Haigh ; 
Rev.  J.  C.  Hart;  Rev.  C.  E.  Hewitt;  Rev.  E.  W.  Hick.s;  Rev.  E.  L.  Hunt; 
Rev.  F.  W.  Ingmire;  Rev.  W.  B.  James;  W.  A.  Jarrell ;  Rev.  W.  J.  Ker- 
mott;  Rev.  H.  Kingsburv;  Wm.  Lawrence;  Rev.  J.  T.  Ma.son  ;  Rev.  J.  F. 
Merriam;  C.  II.  Moftat;  Rev.  T.  C.  Morel.v;  Rev.  H.  E.  Norton;  Rev.  R. 
M.  Nott;  J.  Pennoyer;  Rev  Geo  Phippen ;  Rev.  N.  Pierce;  Rev.  Thos. 
Piatt;  Rev  Tlios.  T.  Potter;  Rev.  Thos.  Powell;  Rev.  Volney  Powell;  E. 
F.  Price;  Rev.  L.  Raymond;  Rev.  J.  A.  Smith.  D.D. ;  Rev.  W.  H.  Stifler; 
Rev.  Silas  Thomas;  Rev.  M.  M.  Took;  Rev.  C.  T.  Tucker;  Rev.  A.  N. 
Walter;  Rev.  H.  B.  Waterman;  Rev  J.  T.  Westover;  Rev.  J.  M.  White- 
head; W.  A.  Wilson;  Rev,  J.  L.  M.  Young;  Rev.  Leroy  Church. 

MISSOURI. 

DELEGATES. 

William  Jr-vell  Colirsr^.—Rev.  A.  H.  Burlingham,  D  D. ;  Rev.  D.  T.  Mor- 
rill; Rev.  J    W.  Warder;  Prof.  Norman  Fox. 

VISITORS. 

Rev.  S.  W.  Marston ;  Rev.  George  Kline;  Rev.  Thomas  Hudson. 

IOWA. 

DELEG.\TES. 

Desmoines  University. — Rev.  J.  V.  Schofield ;  Rev.  Luther  Stone;  Rev.  J. 
W.  Denison. 

lov.'a  Baptist  Union. — Rev.  Thomas  Brnnde:  Rev.  J.  F.  Childs  ;  Rev.  D. 
H.  Cooley;  Rev.  S.  K.  Leavitt;   Rev.  Dexter  P.  Smith.  D.D. 

Cedar  Valley  Seminary. — Prof.  Alvati  Bush  ;  Rev.  H.  H.  Burrington  ;  Rev. 
A.  T.  Cole;  O.  A.  Goodhue,  M.D. ;  Rev.  Asa  Marsh. 

VISITORS. 

Rev.  George  M.  Adams;  Rev.  F.  Adkins;  Hon.  J  M.  Beck;  Rev.  C. 
Brooks;  F.  M.  Bruner;  Rev.  N.  S.  Burton,  D.D.  ;  Rev.  R.  A.  Clapp;  Rev. 
O.  L.  Crittenden;  Prof.  Amos  N.  Currier;  Rev.  R.  R  Hawlej;  Rev.  L.  W. 
Hajhurst;  Rev.  Robert  Leslie ;  A.  Mink;  Rev.  C-  H.  Remington;  Rev.  E. 
P.  Savage;   Rev.  J.  N.  Seeley;  Rev.  P.  S.  Whitman. 

WISCONSIN. 

DELEGATES. 

Wavland  University.-  -Rev.  O.  O.  Stearns;  Rev.  J.  E.  Johnson;  A.  Joy; 
Prof.  J.  A.  Miner;   Hon.  C.  Burchard. 

Baptist  Education  Society.— "^.Qv .].  W.  Fish;  Prof.  A.  S,  Hutchins;  Rev. 
E.  Nesbit.  D.D. 

VISITORS. 

B.  L  Aldrich;  Rev.  N.  E.  Chapin  ;  Rev.  Henry  Clark;  Rev.  L.  Fosdic; 
Prof.  Milo  P.  Jewett,  LL.D.;  Dr.  L.  E.  Ober;  Rev.  E.  H.  Page;  E.  C. 
Smith;  G.  D.  Stevens;  Rev.  J.  T.  Sunderland;  Rev.  J.  M.  Titterington ; 
Rev.  J.  H.  Wilderman;  N.  E.  Word;   Rev.  Isaac  B.  Branch,  D.D.S. 

MINNESOTA. 

DELEGATES. 

Baftist  State  Convention.— YLav.  L.  B.  Allen,  D  D. ;  Hon.  Mark  H.  Dun- 
nell,  LL.D.;  Rev.  A.  Gale;  Rev.  E.  B.  Hurlburt;   Pvcv.  Daniel  Read,  LL.D. 

VISITORS. 

Rev.  G.  W.  Fuller;  D.  D.  Merrill;  Rev.  L   B   Teft. 

NEBRASKA. 
Visitor. — Rev.  J.  W.  Daniels. 

CANADA. 
Visitors.— Rev.  R.  A.  Fyfe,  D.D  ;  Rev.  John  Bates;  Rev.  H.  W.  Stearns. 


6  WESTERN   BAPTIST 

The  following  Board  of  Permanent  Officers  was  elected  by  the 

Convention  : 

Ebenezer  Thresher,  of  Ohio,  President. 
Hon.  I.  M.  Gregory,  LL.D..of  Illinois,  >     .,.      r.       -j     ^ 
Hon.  Caleb  Van  Husen,  of  Michigan,   \     V,ce  Presidents. 
Rev.  E.  C.  Mitchell,  D  D.,  of  Illinois,  Secretary. 

Prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Everts,  D.D.,  of  Illinois. 
The  business  of  the  Convention  was  then  introduced  with  an 
address  by  Rev.  Dr.  Cutting,   setting   forth  the  objects  of  the  Con- 
vention and  suggesting  an  Order  of  Exercises  as  follows : 

WEDNESDAY    MORNING    AND   AFTERNOON. 

1.  Th"  Qiiestion  of  Academies  in  the  Scheme  of  Higlier  Education, 
including  that  of  Preparatory  Departments  in  our  Colleges,  and  the  bearing 
upon  this  question  of  the  ExisLence  of  Public  High  Schools.  Prof.  J.  W. 
Stearns,  Universitj'  of  Chicago. 

2.  The  Qiiestion  of  the  Education  of  the  Women  of  the  West,  including 
that  of  the  Admission  of  both  Sexes  to  the  same  Institutions  of  Higher 
Learning.     Rev.  H.  L.  Wajiand,  D.D.,  President  of  Franklin  College,  Ind. 

3.  The  Place  of  Scientific  Studies  in  Present  Education.  Rev.  Samson 
Talbot,  D.D.,  President  of  Denison  University,  Ohio. 

WEDNESDAY    EVENING. 

4.  The  Colleges  and  Universities  of  the  West,  their  Present  Character 
and  Functions,  with  the  possible  Lines  of  their  Development,  to  meet  the 
Advancing  Needs  of  Education.     Rev.  J.  A.  Smith,  D.D.,  Chicago. 

THURSDAY   MORNING    AND    AFTERNOON. 

5.  How  Christian  Institutions  of  Higher  Learning,  Academies,  Colleges, 
Universities,  and  Theological  Seminaries,  keeping  progress  with  the  growth 
of  Society,  can  best  be  built  up  in  the  West,  with  due  regard  always  to  other 
necessary  expenditures  of  money  for  religious  purposes.  A  Discussion,  to 
be  opened  by  Dr.  Bulkley,  of  Shurtleff  College. 

6.  The  Duties  of  Western  Churches  with  reference  to  the  Perpetuation, 
Increase,  and  Education  of  the  jlinistry.  Rev.  Kendall  Brooks,  D.D.,  I'resi- 
dent  Kalamazoo  College,  Mich. 

7.  The  Care  of  Education  as  part  of  Pastoral  Duty,  with  tlie  bearing  of  a 
general  and  effective  movement  in  education  on  the  Character.  Progress, 
and  Usefulness  of  the  Denomination.  Rev.  J.  V.  Schofield,  DesMoines, 
Iowa. 

The  Order  of  Exercises  suggested  by  Dr.  Cutting  was  adopted. 

The  following  Committees  were  appointed: 

Committee  on  Delegates : 

Rev.  J.  F.  Childs,  of  Iowa. 
Rev.  S.  Washington,  of  III. 
Rev.  E.  K.  Chandler,  of  Ind. 
Rev.  Silas  Thomas,  of  111. 

Committee  on  Academies. 

Rev.  R.  M.  NoTT,  of  111. 
Rev.  A.  Owen,  of  Mich. 
Rev.  Geo.  Kline,  of  Mo. 
Rev.  D.  H.  CooLEY,  of  Iowa. 
Prof.  A.  S.  HuTCHiNS,  of  Wis. 
Rev.  I.  N.  Carman,  of  Ohio. 
Rev.  L.  B.  Allen,  D.D.,  of  Minn. 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  / 

Committee  on  Colleges  and  Universities. 

Prof.  A.  N.  Arnold,  D.D.,  of  111. 

Rev.  Daniel  Read,  LL.D.,  of  Minn. 

Prof.  Alvah  Bush,  of  Iowa. 

Prof.  Norman  Fox,  of  Mo. 

Rev.  A.  J.  Essex,  of  Ind. 

Rev  J.  C.  C.  Clarke,  of  Ohio. 

Prof  M.  P.Jew^ett,  LL'D.,  of  Wis. 

Committee  on  Scientific  Education. 

Prof.  Edward  Olney,  of  Mich. 
Prof.  A.  N.  Currier,  of  Iowa. 
Prof.  O.  Howes,  of  111. 
Rev.  J.  E.  Johnson,  of  Wis. 

Committee  on  the  Increase  of  the  Ministry  and  Theological  Education. 

Rev.  N.  M.  Wood,  D.D.,  of  111. 
Rev.  A.  H.  BuRLiNGHAM,  D.D.,  of  Mo. 
Rev.  E.  Nesbit,  D.D.,  of  Wis. 
Rev.  Silas  Tucker,  D.D.,  of  Ind. 
Rev.  D.  P.  Smith,  D.D.,  of  Iowa. 
Rev.  F.  A.  Douglass,  of  Ohio. 

Committee  on  De?iominatiotial  Work  in  Education. 

Rev.  G.  W.  NoRTHRUP,  D.D.,  of  111. 
Rev.  A   A.  Kendrick,  of  Mo. 
Prof.  John  Stevens,  of  Ohio. 
Rev.  O.  O.  Stearns,  of  Wis. 
Rev.  Samuel  Graves,  D.D.,  of  Mich. 
Rev.  S.  L.  Caldwell,  D.D.,  of  R.  I. 
Rev.  Lemuel  Moss,  DD.,  of  Pa. 

Committee  on  Education  of  Women. 

Hon.  Mark  H.  Dunuell,  LL.D.,  of  Minn. 

Rev.  John  B.  White,  of  111. 

Judge  J.  M.  Beck,  Iowa. 

"Rev.  Daniel  Shepardson,  D.D.,  of  Ohio. 

Rev.  D.  T.  Morrill,  Mo.      ' 

The  Convention  then   proceeded  to  listen  to  a  paper,  by  Prof.  J. 
W.  Stearns,  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  upon 

THE  QUESTION  OF  ACADEMIES  IN  A  SCHEME  OF  HIGHER 
EDUCATION,  INCLUDING  THAT  OF  PREPARATORY  DE- 
PARTMENTS IN  OUR  COLLEGES,  AND  THE  BEARING  UPON 
THIS  QUESTION  OF  THE  EXISTENCE  OF  PUBLIC  HIGH 
SCHOOLS. 

I  propose  to  discuss  briefly:  ist,  the  reason  of  the  neglect  of  Secondary 
Education  at  the  West ;  2dly,  whether  Preparatory  Departments  are  adequate 
to  furnish  this  education;  3dly,  whether  High  Schools  can  be  depended  on 
to  furnish  it;  and  4thly,  what  is  necessary  to  constitute  a  good  Academy 

I.  Three  facts  in  our  educational  arrangements  seem  to  me  especially  sig- 
nificant: that  the  public  school  system  makes  the  primary  school  its  point 
of  departure;  that  the  voluntary  system  tends  to  the  production  of  colleges 
in  excess  of  the  wants  of  the  community;  and  that  secondary  education  is 
so  far  neglected  as  to  be  made  either  incidental —  an  unwelcome  but  neces- 


8  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

sary  appendage  to  the  college  —  or  else  quite  inadequate;  in  short,  that  in 
attempting  to  seat  it  upon  two  stools,  we  have  allowed  it  to  fall  to  the  ground 
between  them      We  must  seek  to  understand  what  these  facts  mean. 

I  find  the  explanation  of  them  in  the  different  aims  of  the  two  educational 
systems.  In  this  country,  public  schools  are  regarded  as  a  governmental 
necessity.  They  have  grown  out  of  the  conviction  that  the  permanence  and 
well-being  of  a  republic  depend  upon  the  intelligence  of  the  great  body  of 
her  citizens.  This  conviction  determines  their  aim,  which  is  to  leave  as 
small  a  number  of  children  as  possible  to  grow  up  in  dangerous  ignorance. 
Therefore  the  primary  school  is  of  the  first  importance.  Moreover,  the  char- 
acter and  tendency  of  the  instruction  which  the  schools  afford  is  decided  by 
the  same  consideration.  Their  ruling  purpose  is  to  train  the  young  for  the 
practical  duties  of  citizenship  and  of  business  life.  The  public  schools,  in 
short,  seek  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  majority.  The  tendency  with  them, 
therefore,  is  to  overestimate  the  present  and  the  practical,  and  to  disregard 
the  past  and  the  speculative. 

The  voluntary  system  is  mostly  under  the  direction  of  the  Church.  It, 
too,  has  a  definite  aim,  but  one  materiall}'  different  from  the  preceding.  This 
is  to  develop  leaders  of  men.  Hence  higher  education  is  its  province,  and 
the  college  is  its  point  of  departure,  the  vital  element  of  the  system.  The 
kind  of  instruction  afforded  is  determined  by  the  end  sought.  Two  things 
are  essential  to  good  leadership  —  breadth  of  view,  which  can  only  be 
obtained  by  a  knowledge  of  other  times,  other  people,  and  other  ways  of 
thinking  than  those  in  the  midst  of  which  we  live;  and  wisdom,  which 
grows  out  of  a  knowledge  of  what  men  have  tried,  and  what  men  have  accom- 
plished in  the  past.  These  things  are  absolutely  essential  to  the  training  of 
good  leaders,  able  to  think  independently  and  to  act  prudently.  Moreover, 
the  Church  wisely  seeks  to  give  that  culture  which  will  keep  alive  a  sense  of 
the  great  revolution  wrought  in  human  life  by  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity. Now,  these  three  purposes  tend  to  one  and  the  same  result,  to  give 
prominence,  in  this  scheme  of  instruction,  to  what  has  been  somewhat  con- 
temptuously styled  "  antiquarianism."  With  such  ends  in  view,  it  is  mani- 
fest, again,  that  the  voluntary  system  must  make  the  college  its  point  of 
departure,  its  head-centre  of  impulse  and  inspiration.  Feeling  this,  each 
denomination  of  Christians,  in  inaugurating  its  educational  work  in  a  new 
State,  seeks  to  lay,  as  soon  as  possible,  the  foundations  of  such  an  institu- 
tion. The  tendency,  thus  arising,  to  exceed  the  actual  wants  of  the  commu- 
nity, is  further  encouraged  by  the  confidence  of  rapid  growth  which  is  char- 
acteristic of  a  new  country,  and  which  requires  provision  to  be  made,  not 
only  for  the  present,  but  also  for  the  certain  future.  Then  comes  the  strug- 
gle for  existence,  which,  if  we  are  to  believe  certain  scientific  teachings,  is 
not  particularly  favorable  to  the  success  of  the  weaker  sort. 

We  can  not  hope  to  change  this  order  of  development.  The  fault  in  it,  if 
there  is  any,  is  the  assumption  that  State  lines  are  natural  boundaries  in 
educational  work,  so  that  an  entire  system  must  be  created  in  each  State  by 
each  denomination.  If  this  is  a  mistake,  it  can  be  remedied  only,  so  far  as  I 
can  see,  by  experience,  and  by  causing  the  importance  and  necessity  of  sec- 
ondary education  to  be  more  generally  recognized. 

From  this  view  of  the  principles  which  have  determined  the  development 
of  the  two  systems,  we  at  once  see  why  secondary  education  has  been  neg- 
lected. It  lies  between  the  college  and  the  primary  school.  It  is,  therefore; 
incidental  to  both  systems,  and  only  incidental.  Both  do  something  to  pro- 
mote it.     The  State  scheme  looks  forward  to  it  as  in  the  line  of  its  progress, 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  9 

and  provides  for  it  as  well  as  can  be  done  consistently  with  the  prosecution 
of  its  main  work.  I  hope  to  be  able  to  show,  however,  that  high  schools 
can  never  be  depended  upon  as  the  chief  source  of  supply  for  our  colleges. 
It  is  self  evident  that  they  can  not  at  the  present  time.  The  voluntary  sys- 
tem has  therefore  taken  up  the  work,  as  indispensable  to  its  higher  institu- 
tions. The  colleges  have  been  compelled  to  provide  academic  teaching,  and 
they  have  done  so  by  the  expedient  of  preparatory  departments. 

II.  Is  this  expedient  wise,  and  adequate  to  the  necessity  ?  I  can  not  regard 
it  as  unwise,  although  it  is  certainly  attended  with  some  serious  disadvan- 
tages. There  are  difficulties  of  management  arising  from  the  great  disparity 
of  age  and  attainments  in  the  pupils;  there  is  the  sentimental  objection  — 
to  which  we  may  attach  more  or  less  importance,  according  to  our  point  of 
view, —  that  a  college  suffers  a  certain  loss  of  dignity  by  having  such  an 
attachment;  there  is  a  constant  tendency  to  overload  the  instructors  (by  no 
means  a  sentimental  objection),  and,  by  reducing  them  to  mere  drudges,  to 
prevent  them  from  attaining  the  best  results  in  their  proper  work.  While 
the  college  is  thus  injured,  the  academy  also  is  liable  to  suffer,  from  the  fact 
that  it  is  looked  upon  as  an  appendage,  and  its  claims  are  likely  to  be  treated 
as  subsidiarj'  to  others.  But  the  expedient  has  this  one  great  recommenda- 
tion, that  in  earlier  stages  of  our  educational  work  it  has  made  it  possible 
to  have  colleges  at  all.  I  might  go  further,  and  say  that  if  we  could  disabuse 
ourselves  of  the  idea  that  by  the  arrangement  we  are  carrying  on  two  sepa- 
rate institutions,  and  could  organize  a  single  course  of  instruction  of  eight 
or  nine  years,  beginning  with  the  secondary  grade,  I  think  such  a  plan  would 
be  attended  with  very  considerable  advantages. 

The  objection  to  preparatory  departments  as  a  means  of  providing  for 
secondary  education,  does  not  lie  chiefly  in  the  direction  already  indicated. 
Even  if  we  admit  that  thej' are,  on  the  whole,  a  serious  disadvantage  to  the 
institutions  with  which  they  are  connected,  we  still  have  to  acknowledge 
that  at  present  our  colleges  can  not  live  without  them.  To  cut  them  oft"  is 
like  cutting  off  the  right  hand.  I  liken  thetn  rather  to  the  cotyledons  which 
the  young  plant  pushes  up  with  its  growth,  and  feeds  upon  until  it  has 
attained  sufficient  strength  to  live  without  them.  The  only  way  in  which 
we  can  hope  to  get  rid  of  them  is  so  to  swell  the  college  classes  that  they 
shall  be  felt  to  be  merely  incumbrances.  Why  is  not  this  accomplished.? 
Among  other  reasons,  as  it  seems  to  me,  because  the  expedient  of  prepara- 
tory departments  is  an  utterly  inadequate  one  to  encourage  and  support  such 
a  growth. 

Looking  at  the  condition  of  the  voluntary  educational  system  in  this- 
State  as  fairly  indicative  of  that  prevailing  generally  in  the  West,  I  find  that 
there  are  twenty-one  colleges  in  Illinois,  all  but  two  of  which  have  prepara- 
tory departments.  Four  years  ago,  every  college  in  the  State  had  such  a 
department.  Not  only  does  the  number  of  pupils  in  the  preparatory  depart- 
ments far  exceed  that  of  those  in  attendance  on  the  colleges,  but  the  number 
of  the  latter  is  very  small.  Four  years  ago,  fourteen  of  the  best  colleges  in 
the  State  graduated,  on  an  average,  less  than  eleven  pupils  each,  and  only 
one  as  many  as  twenty.  Many  reasons  might  be  assigned  for  this  state  of 
affairs,  but  the  most  important  one,  I  think,  is,  that  the  colleges  are  little 
better  than  local  institutions.  Most  of  their  pupils  come  from  a  compara- 
tively limited  field,  in  which  the  influence  of  the  college  is  powerfully  felt. 
So  long  as  our  colleges  depend  chiefly  upon  their  own  preparatory  depart- 
ments as  feeders,  this  must  necessarily  be  the  case. 

Preparatory  departments,  then,  can   not  take  the  place  of  academies  in- 


lO  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

fostering  and  developing  a  wide-spread  interest  in  liberal  culture.  That 
kind  of  an  influence  which  they  exert  in  the  communities  where  they  are 
situated,  ought  to  be  developed  in  a  great  many  different  centres,  all  subsid- 
iary to  the  one  institution.  We  need  academies,  ably  conducted  and  judi- 
ciously located,  to  exercise  this  influence.  They  would  draw  to  themselves 
a  great  many  young  persons  who,  but  for  the  neighborhood  of  such  a  school, 
would  never  think  of  obtaining  an  education.  They  would  inspire  a  desire 
for  higher  culture  in  the  minds  of  pupils  who  entered  them  with  very  limited 
expectations  They  would  be  operating  powerfully  in  building  up  the 
higher  institutions,  not  only  by  increasing  the  number  of  pupils  in  attend- 
ance upon  them,  but  by  drawing  towards  them  the  thoughts  and  aftections 
of  the  people  over  a  very  large  field  of  operations.  We  can  not  any  longer 
sit  still  and  wait  for  the  colleges  to  grow.  We  can  not  make  them  exert 
the  widest  and  most  salutary  influence,  even  by  swelling  their  endowments 
and  increasing  their  facilities  for  instruction,  essential  as  this  is.  We  must 
organize  our  system.  We  must  put  in  operation  the  train  of  causes  which 
draw  men  to  these  institutions.  We  must  come  into  connection  with  the 
people  as  extensively  as  possible,  and  make  them  to  feel,  in  every  way  in  our 
power,  the  importance  of'  the  work  we  are  trying  to  do.  To  talk  of  accom- 
plishing this  by  preparatory  departments,  is  as  absurd  as  to  maintain  that 
large  churches,  built  at  the  county-seats,  would  be  better  means  of  promoting 
the  growth  of  religion  than  the  small  chapels  are,  which  now  spring  up  in 
every  village. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  preparatory  departments  can  not  take  the  place 
of  academies,  because  the  latter  ought  to  be  something  more  than  schools 
of  preparation  for  college.  They  ought  to  be  this  above  everything  else,  to 
be  the  quiet  streams  which  drift  everything  on  their  surface  towards  the  larger 
river;  but  they  ought  also  to  furnish  supplementary  instruction  to  that  of 
the  district  schools.  This  they  should  do,  because  instruction  of  this  kind 
is  made  accessible  by  our  public  school  system  to  only  a  portion  of  the  peo- 
ple. High  schools  can  not  exist  except  in  the  larger  towns.  They  aftbrd  free 
instruction  onlj'  to  the  children  of  those  who  are  taxed  to  support  them. 
Their  courses  of  study,  regulations  and  general  arrangements,  are  always 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  city,  and  consequently  are,  in  many  respects,  not 
well  suited  to  those  of  pupils  from  without.  There  are,  therefore,  in  every 
State,  large  numbers  of  young  persons  who  have  neither  fitting  opportuni^ 
ties  to  obtain  secondary  instruction,  nor  influences  drawing  them  to  seek  it. 
Academies  should  be  organized  to  meet  their  wants,  as  far  as  this  is  prac- 
ticable. These  should  aim  to  furnish  the  best  possible  training  in  the  Eng- 
lish language  and  literature,  in  elementary  science,  and  in  the  modern 
languages,  as  well  as  in  the  classics  and  mathematics. 

Let  me  add,  as  a  third  reason  why  preparatory  departments  can  not  take 
the  place  of  academies,  that  the  benefits  of  the  latter  would  be  accessible  to 
young  people  of  both  sexes.  The  day  is  coming,  and  that,  too,  before  very 
long,  when  the  importance  of  this  consideration  yy'iU  be  seen  in  its  true 
light. 

These  reasons,  which  show  the  insuflliciency  of  preparatory  departments 
to  do  the  work  which  ought  to  be  done,  also  urge  us  to  the  establishment  of 
academies.  We  need  these  as  centres  of  quickening  influence,  both  that  the 
people  may  be  more  widely  and  deeply  impressed  with  the  value  of  liberal 
culture,  and  that  our  colleges  maybe  better  supplied  with  students;  we 
need  them  to  furnish  secondary  education  to  those  for  whom  no  provision 


EDUCATIONAL    CONVENTION.        '  II 

is  made  by  existing  arrangements;  and  we    need  them   for  the   sake  of  our 
daughters  as  well  as  of  our  sons. 

III.  We  must  ask  further  in  what  relation  do  our  high  schools  stand  to 
this  matter?  I  shall  not  be  understood,  in  what  I  am  about  to  say,  as  failing 
t'l  lecognize  the  value  of  the  work  these  schools  are  doing.  It  seems  to  me, 
however,  ver3'clear,that  they  do  not  and  can  not  take  tlie  place  of  academies. 
In  the  first  place,  as  already  shown,  they  do  not  occupy  the  field.  Such 
schools  exist  only  in  cities  and  large  towns,  and  are  organized  and  conducted 
as  local  institutions.  But,  further,  very  few  high  schools  in  the  West  a^tford 
opportunities  of  classical  culture.  I  have  tried  to  ascertain  the  number  in 
this  State  which  keep  up  a  classical  department,  but  without  success.  I  have 
assured  mj'self,  however,  that  the  proportion  of  such  schools  to  the  whole 
number  is  very  small.  Even  where  classical  teaching  is  provided  it  is  gen- 
erally as  a  mere  appendage  to  the  arrangements  of  the  school,  and  is  so 
little  appreciated  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  maintain  it  regularly  and  efficientlv. 
High  schools  therefore  are  doing  very  little  in  this  direction. 

In  the  second  place  such  schools  do  not  exert  the  moral  and  religious 
influence  which  ought  to  prevail  in  an  academy.  We  have  lately  been  dis- 
cussing the  question  of  Bible  reading  in  the  public  schools.  Whether  the 
movement  to  abolish  this  is  to  be  successful  or  not  the  controversy  has  put 
in  a  clear  light  the  impossibility  of  giving  a  decided  religious  tone  to  these 
institutions.  No  one  expects  that  any  longer,  and  many  regard  the  matter 
with  indifference  because  it  is  a  fundamental  feature  of  the  school  system 
that  the  children  board  at  home.  They  therefore  enjoy  such  religious 
instruction  and  influences  as  their  parents  choose  to  provide  for  them. 
They  are  also  under  parental  care  in  respect  to  habits  and  conduct  out.  of 
school.  But  an  academy  is  necessarily  a  boarding-school,  and  towards  its 
pupils  it  must  discharge,  in  part  at  least,  the  duties  of  a  parent.  It  is  there- 
fore not  without  reason  that  the  organization  of  such  schools  is  looked  upon 
as  a  religious  enterprise.  They  ought  to  be  springing  up  all  over  the  States, 
working  not  in  hostility  to  the  public  schools,  but  as  supplementary  to  them, 
and  bringing  the  advantages  of  liberal  culture  within  the  reach  of  those  who 
live  away  from  the  cities,  under  moral  and  religious  influences  which  may  in 
some  sort  supply  the  place  of  the  associations  of  home. 

But,  in  the  third  place,  the  inevitable  tone  of  the  public  schools  unfit  them 
to  do  the  work  of  feeders  to  the  colleges.  I  am  sure  that  there  is  a  wide- 
spread misapprehension  on  this  subject.  It  is  difficult  for  many  persons  to 
understand  why  a  school  which  produces  admirable  results  in  certain  direc- 
tions should  be  disqualified  by  that  very  fact  from  accomplishing  certain 
other  results.  Yet  such  is  the  case,  and  I  think  that  the  more  successful  our 
public  schools  are  in  their  appropriate  work,  the  less  will  they  be  fitted  to 
take  the  place  of  academies.  For  one  of  the  most  important  elements  in  an 
institution  of  learning  is  the  impulse  it  gives  to  its  pupils.  Many  schools 
are  almost  worthless  because  they  give  little  or  no  impulse  of  any  kind. 
They  are  mere  machines  which  push  the  scholars  through  a  certain  routine 
of  studies,  mills  which  grind  a  yearly  grist,  and  often  grind  it  exceedingly 
fine.  But  a  good  school  inspires  new  life  in  its  pupils,  gives  them  new  aims 
and  profoundly  influences  their  tastes  and  inclinations.  They  are  carried 
along  by  it  with  rapid  strides  in  their  development  of  character.  What  kind 
of  an  impulse  does  it  give.'  In  what  direction  are  they  borne-.'  These  are 
significant  questions.  So  important  have  they  appeared  that  it  has  been 
questioned  whether  the  effort  to  carry  on  scientific  in  connection  with  the 
literary   departments  of  the  colleges,  is  wise.    The  tone  of  the  two  depart- 


12  "VVESTERX    BAPTIST. 

ments  must  be  so  diverse,  the  impulse  tliej  seek  to  give  so  dissimilar,  that  it 
is  perhaps  a  waste  of  energy  to  attempt  to  make  them  work  together.  In  the 
college  a  love  of  learning  for  its  own  sake,  enthusiastic  study  and  research 
for  the  purpose  of  culture,  for  mental  growth  and  expansion  of  view,  ought 
to  be  the  prevailing  sentiment.  The  old  term  "  humanities."  by  which  liter- 
ary and  classical  studies  were  designated  very  happily  indicated  their  .scope 
and  intent  In  a  school  of  science  on  the  other  hand,  there  must  be  equal 
enthusiasm  and  thirst  for  knowledge,  but  it  must  be  directed  alwavs  to  some 
practical  end;  to  making  skilled  chemists,  engineers  and  manufacturers:  its 
scope  is  narrower  and  more  simple.  Both  forms  of  culture  are  valuable 
and  necessary,  but  each  has  methods  and  tendencies  of  its  own,  and  each  is 
apt  to  derogate  from  the  claims  and  the  spirit  of  the  other  when  they  are 
forced  into  unnatural  union.  I  think  that  experience  has  tended  to  confirm 
the  wisdom  of  these  views.  They  have  prevailed  in  France;  thej'  are  gam- 
ing in  favor  in  New  England. 

It  requires  no  extended  statement  to  show  how  these  cons'derations  aftect 
the  fitness  of  high  schools  to  take  the  place  of  academies.  The  impulse  of 
our  public  schools  must  always  be  towards  business  life.  The  principles 
whicii  have  led  to  their  establishment  determine  this.  As  already  indicated, 
their  mission  is  to  prepare  as  many  of  the  youth  as  possible  for  the  intelli- 
gent discharge  of  the  duties  of  citizenship.  Moreover,  the  great  majority  of 
the  pupils  must  always  tend  towards  business,  and  think  liglitly  of  culture. 
These  two  facts  determine  the  influence  of  the  schools.  The  tendency  will 
alwavs  be  to  drift  men  from,  rather  than  towards  the  colleges.  The  four- 
teenth annual  report  of  the  public  schools  of  this  city  says  of  the  high 
school:  "The  number  of  male  pupils  who  complete  the  classical  course 
with  the  expectation  of  entering  college,  is  comparatively  small.  The  large 
majority  of  those  who  enter  the  school  take  the  studies  of  the  general  depart- 
ment, thinking  not  of  professional  life,  but  of  business  of  some  kind,  the 
avenues  to  which  are  so  many  and  so  inviting."  The  same  report  shows,  out 
of  fifty-seven  graduates  for  the  year,  only  seven  from  the  classical  depart- 
ment. In  no  school  in  the  State  are  the  opportunities  for  classical  study 
better,  or  the  inducements  to  enter  upon  it  superior,  to  those  of  our  high 
school.  Even  the  establi^-hment  of  a  separate  classical  sciiool,  as  a  portion 
of  the  State  system,  will  not  change  this  tendency.  It  is  inherent  in  the 
very  nature  and  constitution  of  the  whole  system.  The  impulse  is  so  fully 
given  in  the  grammar  schools,  that  few  pupils  will  break  away  from  it  and 
turn  themselves  towards  the  classical  school.  The  high  school  is  the  natural 
head  and  termination  of  a  course;  that  to  which  the  ambition  of  the  lad 
points  from  the  beginning,  and  beyond  which  he  encounters  few  influences 
to  draw  him  on  Does  not  this  consideration  in  part  explain  the  fact  that 
during  forty-six  years  ending  with  iS6i  only  six  hundred  pupils  entered 
college  from  the  Boston  Latin  School;  while  during  only  twenty-eight  years 
preceding  the  same  date,  more  than  a  thousand  entered  from  Phillips  Acad- 
emy at  Andover. 

The  public  schools,  then,  can  not  take  the  place  of  the  academies,  because 
thev  do  not  occupy  the  field,  and  are  not  adapted  to  the  want;  because  they 
can  not  exercise  the  proper  religious  and  moral  influence;  and  because  their 
tone  and  the  impulse  they  give  to  their  pupils  is  not  of  the  kind  needed  for 
encouraging  advanced  culture. 

IV.  Let  us,  then,  proceed  further  to  inquire  briefly  what  are  the  elements 
essential  to  a  good  academy.  They  may  be  summarized  thus:  Stability, 
independence,   responsibility.     The  patrons  must  have   assurance  that  the 


EDUCATIONAL    CONVENTION".  I3 

school  is  not  a  mere  temporary  experiment,  an  individual  enterprise,  to  be 
maintained  in  such  ways  and  for  such  a  time  as  it  can  be  made  iinancially 
successful.  They  must  feel  in  the  first  place  that  it  is  to  continue,  and 
steadily  to  seek  the  accomplishment  of  a  definite  purpose  In  the  second 
place,  they  must  recognize  that  the  school  is  above  individual  caprice  and 
dictation,  not  compelled  to  sacrifice  right  methods,  high  aims,  and  strict 
discipline  to  catering  for  patronage.  Finally,  they  must  feel  that  its  policy 
is  shaped  and  directed  b}'  competent  hands,  by  whom  the  teachers  are 
appointed,  and  to  whom  they  are  responsible.  In  short,  an  academy  must 
be  something  more  than  a  mere  private  school. 

One  of  the  first  essentials  to  the  establishment  of  such  an  institution, 
therefore,  will  be  an  endowment.  This  need  not  be  large  to  begin  with.  I 
think  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  would  form  a  good  basis  for  the  founda- 
tion of  an  academy.  This  fund  ought  to  be  increased,  with  the  growth  of 
the  school,  to  four  or  five  times  that  amount.  A  library,  laboratory,  cabi- 
nets, etc.,  could  be  built  up  in  the  course  of  time.  They  are  all  valuable 
adjuncts  to  its  work,  but  none  of  them  are  vital.  I  hear  very  much  on  this 
subject  with  which  I  have  no  sympathy.  I  fear  our  tendency  is  to  over-esti- 
mate the  importance  of  these  material  accessories  of  education,  fine  build- 
ings, cabinets,  libraries,  etc.,  and  to  under-value  the  importance  of  life. 
Men  —  earnest,  able,  devoted  teachers,  with  culture  and  heart  and  power  to 
•give  to  the  work,  are,  in  my  view,  the  most  indispensable  requisite.  They 
make  a  school  Their  value  to  it  is  beyond  compute,  and  I  would  have 
means  provided  for  paying  them,  if  the  school  had  to  be  organized  in  a  gar- 
ret. Depend  upon  it,  fine  buildings  do  not  make  fine  institutions,  and  as 
long  as  we  persist  in  spending  our  money  on  brick  and  mortar  instead  of  on 
brains, —  on  chemical  retorts  and  fossil  ferns  and  trilobites  instead  of  on  liv- 
ing men, —  our  progress  in  educational  work  will  be  rather  in  show  than  in 
substance.  Let  the  endowment  be,  in  the  beginning,  sufficient,  with  the 
increase  from  the  school,  to  secure  the  services  of  one  or  two  efficient  teach- 
ers, and  trust  to  the  influence  of  the  school  and  future  eftbrts  in  its  behalf  to 
provide  for  its  growing  wants. 

In  the  second  place,  an  academy  must  have  a  properly  constituted  board 
of  overseers.  This  is  too  manifest  to  need  discussion.  Besides  taking  care 
of  its  finances  and  general  management,  this  board  ought  to  provide  for 
stated  and  competent  examinations,  that  its  instruction  may  be  made 
thorough  and  progressive 

In  conclusion,  I  urge  the  establishment  of  academies  on  the  ground  that 
the  interests  of  the  Church  require  this  at  our  hands  I  fear  we  are  suffering 
materially  from  a  lack  of  breadth  of  view  in  our  educational  work.  .The 
most  absorbing  thought  in  our  eftbrts  at  present  is  the  training  of  candidates 
for  the  ministry  This  is  the  interest  which  appeals  inost  powerfully  and 
most  constantly  to  the  hearts  of  the  Church;  and  the  need  of  educated  min- 
isters is  indeed  pressing.  But  we  must  be  careful  that  we  do  not  let  it  stand 
in  our  light,  and  prevent  us  from  seeing  both  other  great  necessities  and  the 
most  effective  means  of  providing  for  this.  An  educated  laity  is  hardly  less 
essential  to  the  cause  of  true  religion  at  the  present  time  than  an  educated 
clergy.  The  various  Christian  and  charitable  labors  of  the  Cliurch  were 
never  more  dependent  upon  the  counsel  and  efforts  of  the  laity.  As  teachers, 
as  lecturers,  as  leaders  in  science  and  literature,  as  legislators,  indeed,  in  all 
the  departments  of  active  life,  how  essential  is  it  to  have  intelligent,  edu- 
cated Christian  men!  We  need  a  re-awakening  on  this  subject.  If  we  felt 
''its  importance  as   we  ought,  we   should  certainly  recognize  more  fully  the 


14  AVESTERN    BAPTIST 

need  of  putting  in  operation  the  train  of  causes  which  will  bring  as  many 
as  possible  to  obtain  a  thorough  education.  If  we  felt  it  as  we  ought,  voung 
men  of  ability  and  promise  in  the  Churches  would  be  sought  out  and  helped 
to  obtain  an  education,  without  exacting  from  them  in  advance  a  pledge 
that  they  will  enter  the  ministry. 

But  even  in  the  narrower  view  of  supplying  the  pulpits  of  the  denomina- 
tion, it  can  hardly  be  questioned  that  we  are  not  pursuing  the  wisest  course. 
When  a  young  man  enters  an  academy,  he  is  generally  at  the  age  at  which 
liis  character  first  takes  its  direction,  when  religious  influence  is  most  essen- 
tial and  most  likely  to  produce  its  legitimate  fruits.  If  we  were  more  active 
in  furnishing  the  schools  needed,  in  expanding  the  scope  and  increasing  the 
patronage  of  our  educational  institutions,  can  it  be  doubted  that,  with  the 
blessing  of  God,  we  should  reap  the  fruits  of  our  labors  in  the  conversion  of 
many  while  pursuing  their  studies.''  and  still  further  in  the  turning  of  many 
to  the  work  so  loudly  calling  for  laborers.?  We  must  make  a  wise  use  of  the 
means  within  our  reach,  we  must  put  in  operation  the  proper  train  of  causes, 
if  we  expect  to  produce  the  best  results.  If  our  colleges  are  languishing  from 
a  lack  of  organization  and  breadth  of  view  in  our  educational  work,  are  not 
all  our  interests  as  a  denomination  suffering  from  the  same  cause.'  It  is  a 
law  which  even  Churches  can  not  afford  to  overlook,  that  we  shall  reap  as 
we  sow.  If  we  sow  sparingly,  we  shall  reap  also  sparingly.  Have  we  not 
sown  sparingly,  while  making  our  arrangements  for  a  most  bounteous  har- 
vest.' For,  see,  our  educational  institutions  are  strong  in  proportion  as  they 
are  farther  removed  from  the  people.  Our  seminaries  receive  the  most  favor 
and  attention  ;  our  colleges  are  not  wholly  overlooked ;  but  our  academies 
—  there  are  no  such  institutions  among  us.  And  yet  they  should  be,  as  it 
were,  the  fallow  fields  in  which  to  make  our  abundant  sowing.  What  cen- 
tres of  influence  and  power  they  may  become !  Think  of  Dr.  Arnold's  work  at 
the  head  of  Rugby,  and  the  number  of  men  in  public  life  who  received  their 
impulse  and  the  mould  of  their  characters  from  him;  or  of  Dr.  Taylor's 
direction  of  Phillips  Academy  at  Andover,  and  its  influence  in  New  England 
and  throughout  the  country,  if  you  would  estimate  the  moral  power  of  a 
good  academy.  We  must  recognize  the  academy  as  a  necessity  and  as  a 
source  of  power,  as  we  never  have  done,  if  we  expect  to  infuse  new  life  and 
strength  and  progress  into  our  whole  system. 

The  discussion  of  the  paper  by  Prof.  STEARNS  was  introduced 
by  Prof  JOHN  STEVENS  of  Ohio,  who  expressed  himself  as  fully 
endorsing  the  sentiments  of  the  paper,  especially  those  which  related 
to  file  pressing    demand   for  academies  in  the  several  States. 

JUDGE  BECK,  of  Iowa,  wished  to  enter  his  protest  against  ev- 
ery sentiment  uttered  in  the  paper  of  Prof  STEARNS.  He  wished 
to  enter  his  most  decided  protest.  We  do  not  need  academies —  at 
least  not  denominational  academies.  Such  institutions  in  Iowa  are 
abortions.  The  counties  in  that  State  are  authorized  to  establish 
academies,  and  have  done  so  to  a  large  extent.  We  can  not  com- 
pete with  them.  He  counselled  his  brethren  of  Iowa  to  support 
their  colleges.  If  you  attempt  to  establish  academies  in  every  coun- 
t}-,  you  will  starve  both.  We  are  unfortunately  divided  in  Iowa. 
We  are  attempting  to  carry  three  colleges,   which    is  too   much  for 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  I5 

US,  at  present ;  but  we  hope  that  we  may  make  a  success  of  them 
in  future.  As  a  denomination,  the  Baptists  did  not  want  to  support 
academies,  for  such  institutions  were  not  purely  denominational. 
The  Baptists  should  support  their  own  denominational  colleges  and 
seminaries.  For  his  part  he  would  support  no  other.  And  he 
would  say  to  the  Baptists,  of  Iowa,  don't  give  a  cent  of  their  money 
nor  a  tithe  of  their  time  and  energies  for  any  educational  institutions 
but  those  of  their  own  denomination. 

Rev.  THOMAS  BRAND,  of  Iowa,  could  not  but  think  that  a 
large  portion  of  the  delegates  from  Iowa  would  disagree  with  the 
last  speaker  in  regard  to  the  establishment  of  academies.  The  Bap- 
tists of  Iowa  were  in  a  condition  to  be  benefited  by  the  deliberations 
of  this  Convention.  We  have  four  institutions  which,  while  they 
rank  merely  with  academies,  bear  much  more  imposing  names.  If 
they  were  only  content  to  be  known  as  academies  and  do  the  work 
of  academies,' it  would  be  far  better  for  us.  What  we  most  need 
are  feeders  for  our  colleges.  He  referred  to  the  Congregational  col- 
lege at  Grinnell,  as  an  instance  of  the  failure  of  preparatory 
departments.  The  professors  were  looking  anxiously  for  the  time 
when  this  may  be  done  away  with,  and  academies  be  established 
all  over  the  State  to  prepare  students  for  our  colleges.  He  was, 
therefore,  in  favor  of  the  sentiments  of  the  paper  read. 

Prof.  TEN  BROEK,  of  Ann  Arbor,  thought,  if  by  a  resolution 
of  tliis  body  we  could  establish  a  Rugby  or  a  Phillips  Academy,  he 
would  be  in  favor  of  the  sentiments  to  which  he  had  listened  in  the 
paper  read  before  us.  But  it  recommended  what  everybody  knew 
can  never  be  done.  He  thought  the  whole  thing  impossible,  and 
was  opposed  to  dissipating  our  strength  as  low  down  as  the  acade- 
mies. The  Union  schools  of  Michigan  had  done  their  work  admir- 
ably well  in  furnishing  students  for  the  State  University.  He 
thought  we  had  better  complete  what  we  had  already  begun,  rather 
than  attempt  impossible  things. 

Dr.  READ,  of  Minnesota,  thought  it  not  wise  to  carry  out  the 
plan  proposed  in  the  paper,  in  the  Western  States,  how*ver  well  it 
might  work  in  the  old  States  of  the  Union.  He  thought  it  easier  to 
establish  colleges  in  the  West  than  academies.  People  in  the  West 
were  taken  by  the  name  university  or  college,  and  will  give  money 
and  lands  for  establishment  and  support,  while  they  will  not  look 
at  a  proposal  to  establish  an  academy.  If  only  a  preparatory 
department  were  established  at  first,  it  would  accomplish  all  the  good 
claimed  for  academies,  and  give  an  impulse  to  young  men  towards 
a  liberal  education.  The  wisest  course  for  us  in  the  West  is  to  con- 
centrate our  efibrts  and  our  means  on  institutions  already  estab- 
lished. 


1 6  WESTERN   BAPTIST 

Dr.  EVERTS  thought  the  apparent  difference  on  the  subject 
was  more  on  a  question  of  names  than  anything  else.  The  friends  of 
academies  were  also  the  advocates  of  colleges.  He  urged  that  the 
efforts  of  the  denomination  be  directed  to  the  securing  of  their  proper 
share  in  the  control  and  management  of  the  institutions  of  learn- 
ing which  are  being  established  by  the  State,  rather  than  attempt 
to  run  counter  to  them  by  establishing  denominational  schools  of  the 
same  character. 

Prof.  OLNEY,  of  Michigan  University,  had  only  a  few  remarks 
to  make.  The  subject  of  cooperation  with  the  State  system  of 
education  was  one  of  vast  importance.  We  do  not  do  well  to 
resign  our  share  of  control  in  the  State  institutions.  The  work  of 
preparing  students  is  being  done  well  by  the  academies  of  the 
East.  It  is  being  tolerably  well  done  by  the  high  schools  of  Mich- 
igan ;  but  it  is  not  being  done  at  all  in  the  West,  except  in  the  pre- 
paratory schools  of  the  colleges.  The  high  schools  of  Michigan 
feel  the  influence  of  the  State  University,  and  they  are  aspiring  to 
prepare  students  for  the  University,  and  consequently  they  are  doing 
a  most  excellent  preparator}'^  work.  The  two  work  together — 
the  University  receiving  the  certificates  of  qualification  in  scholar- 
ship of  the  schools.  Would  it  not  be  well  for  the  colleges  of  other 
Slates  to  establish  the  same  relations  with  the  high  schools  ?  It 
would  greatly  benefit  both,  and  then  we  should  soon  have  univer- 
sities in  fact  as  well  as  in  name.  The  most  advanced  scholars  which 
enter  the  University  at  Ann  Arbor  come  from  the  high  schools. 

Rev.  A.  OWEN,  of  Michigan,  said  the  expression  we  have 
heard  from  Michigan  did  not  fall  in  with  events.  He*  thought  that 
experience  had  shown  that  high  schools  are  not  adequate  feeders  of 
our  colleges,  even  in  that  State.  Nearly  all  who  graduate  from 
these  schools  go  out  into  secular  life.  It  is  felt  that  in  universities 
the  infidel  element  exerts  an  influence  altogether  disproportionate 
to  its  numbers.  He  thought  after  the  primary  school,  the  State 
government  ought  to  have  little  to  do  with  education.  We  want 
academies  under  religious  control  as  feeders  of  our  colleges  and 
universities.  He  was  not  in  favor  of  beginning  at  the  top  and  working 
downwards  in  our  educational  system  — that  is,  establishing  colleges 
first  and  academies  afterwards.  After  Iowa  had  taken  stand  against 
Iowa  in  this  discussion,  it  is  essential  that  Michigan  should  be 
opposed  by  Michigan.  In  Michigan  the  brethren  are  hampered  by 
the  fact  that  denominational  influence  can  not  prevail  over  secular 
power.  It  can  not  even  compete  with  it.  He  spoke  in  favor  of 
academies.  They  have  a  college  in  Michigan,  which  suffers  because 
it  has  no  streams  to  feed  it.     We  should  now  shape  our   eftbrts  for 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  1 7 

the  future,  and  fix  the    localities  for  the  feeders  of  the  colleges.     It 
was  not  necessary  to  have  a  college  in  every  State. 

Prof.  STEVENS,  of  Ohio,  spoke  decidedly  in  favor  of  orepara- 
tory  departments  in  colleges.  They  were  an  absolute  necessity  in 
the  present  condition  of  things  in  that  State. 

Rev. J.  V.  SCHOFIELD,  of  Iowa,  thought  his  friend  (Judge 
Beck )  had  mistaken  a  secular  academy  for  one  under  religious 
influence,  as  proposed  in  the  paper.  He  had  established  one  of  the 
former,  and  it  had  gone  to  pieces,  as  was  quite  natural.  Nor  did 
he  agree  with  Dr.  Read,  that  we  should  establish  the  college,  and 
wait  for  the  academy,  as  an  offshoot  or  outgrowth  of  it.  He  opposed 
schools  where  they  were  afraid  to  read  the  Bible.  He  favored 
learning  and  religion.  In  many  parts  of  Iowa  colleges  were  lan- 
guishing. Public  schools  alone  could  not  be  sufficient  to  feed  the 
higher  institutions.  There  v^as  a  necessity  for  academies,  under  the 
control  of  the  Baotist  denomination. 

Rev.  E.  A.  GASTMAN,  Superintendent  of  Public  Schools  in 
Decatur,  Illinois,  indorsed  some  of  the  views  presented  in  the  paper 
read.  On  the  subject  of  academies  he  thought  there  was  a  ditierence 
of  opinion.  With  many  of  the  sentiments  of  the  paper  he  heartily 
agreed.  But  he  opposed  the  establishing  of  academies  by  the  denom- 
ination, so  generally  as  recommended,  for  the  reason  that  the  Bap- 
tists could  not  sustain  them  as  distinctively  denominational  institu- 
tions. He  referred  to  numerous  failures  where  the  experiment  had 
been  tried.  He  thought  the  reason  why  young  men  went  out  from 
our  high  schools  into  business  was  not  owing  to  the  want  of  acad- 
emies, but  to  the  intense  activity  of  the  age.  He  did  not  think 
that  the  increase  of  academies  would  remedy  this  evil.  The  com- 
mon school  system,  he  was  aware,  was  not  perfect ;  yet  through 
the  high  schools  it  was  doing  much  to  recruit  and  keep  up  our 
colleges. 

Rev.  Dr.  MARSENA  STONE,  of  Ohio,  said,  whatever  may 
have  been  the  success  of  high  schools  in  Michigan,  as  feeders  of  the 
colleges,  they  had  utterly  failed  in  Ohio.  The  difficulty  is  that 
those  who  have  control  of  our  high  schools  in  Ohio  are  not  only  indif- 
ferent but  generally  opposed  to  classical  studies.  In  that  State  there 
is  a  majority  for  academies,  for  preparatory  schools  as  preparatory 
schools.  It  is  impossible  in  his  State  to  fit  students  for  college  in 
the  common  or  high  schools.  It  was  seldom  that  good  men  would 
assume  the  duties  of  school  trustees,  and  whenever  classical  studies 
were  introduced,  they  would  not  be  continued  for  more  than  a  year 
before  other  trustees  would  be  elected  in  opposition  to  snch  a  course, 
and  thus  the  student  preparing  for  college  would  be  thrown  out- 


1 8  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

Rev.  Dr.  PATTISON,  of  Chicago,  spoke  from  forty  years 
experience  as  an  educator.  He  thought  the  subject  of  academies  was 
one  of  great  importance.  VVe  must  have  more  college  students. 
He  meant  college  students  in  a  proper  sense,  not  preparatory  stu- 
dents. The  preparatory  schools  of  the  colleges  were  almost  the 
only  source  of  supply  of  college  students  in  this  country.  But  these 
schools  had  a  depressing  influence  upon  tlie  college  course,  for  one 
reason,  that  they  so  largely  outnumbered  the  regular  students.  He 
thouuht  that  if  Iowa  were  to  establish  academies  throughout  the 
State,  in  ten  years  a  majority  of  them  would  be  empty.  He  thought 
it  better  to  have  three  or  four  well-endowed  academies  or  colleges  — 
whichever  we  might  name  them  —  in  that  State,  than  to  attempt  so 
general  a  system  as  had  been  suggested.  VVe  can  not  sustain  Bap- 
tist colleges  without  Baptist  nurseries,  which  we  could  not  expect 
to  have  in  the  general  high  schools  of  the  country.  They  were 
sought  by  young  men  who  cared  only  for  a  secular  education  —  an 
education  to  prepare  them  for  business,  for  making  money,  and  not 
those  who  had  aspirations  after  learning,  for  learning's  sake. 

The  following  paper  was  then  read  by  Rev.  H.  L.  Wayland,  D.D., 
President  of  Franklin  College,  Indiana,  upon 

THE  QUESTION  OF  THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE 
WEST,  INCLUDING  THAT  OF  THE  ADMISSION  OF  BOTH 
SEXES  TO  THE  SAME  INSTITUTIONS  OF  HIGHER  LEARNING. 

I  retain  enough  of  the  traditions  of  a  military  life,  to  know  that  it  would 
be  a  violation  of  al!  the  Articles  of  War  and  of  all  the  Army  Regulations, 
for  a  subordinate  to  urge  his  own  incompetence  as  a  reason  for  declining  to 
•execute  the  order  of  his  superior  officer.  And  so,  when  the  general  of  our 
peaceful  army,  whose  commission  is  the  Baptist  Educational  Commission, 
bade  me  attempt  this  subject,  I  obeyed  without  gain-saying,  though  I  was 
as  well  aware  as  you  can  be,  of  the  moment  and  delicacy  of  the  questions 
involved,  and  of  the  impossibility  of  giving  them  due  consideration  in  the 
scanty  and  weary  hours  left  from  the  task  of  creating  the  means  of  existence 
for  a  feeble  and  struggling  college. 

The  subject  naturally  presents  itself  under  three  heads  : 
I.    The  Education  of  Women,  considered  at  large; 
II.    The  Education  of  the  Women  of  the  West; 

III.  The  question  of  the  joint  education  of  the  two  sexes,  in  our  higher 
institutions. 

I.    Of  the  Education  of  Women,  considered  at  large : 

Shall  women  have  as  good  an  education  as  is  enjoyed  by  men.?  I  employ 
the  term  Education  for  the  sake  of  brevity.  I  mean,  of  course,  shall 
they  have  as  good  opportunities  of  education  'i  We  are  responsible  for  giving 
women  opportunities.  Education  depends  on  themselves,  and  their  use  of 
the  opportunities.  But  I  presume  that  I  run  no  risk  of  being  misunderstood 
when  I  ask :  Shall  women  have  as  good  an  education  as  is  enjoyed  by  men  'i 

Yes,  and,  first,  on  the  ground  oi  justice.     Woman  is  a  human  being,  and 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  1 9 

SO,  entitled  to  all  the  rights  inherited  bj  anj  human  being.    We  may  venture 
to  reckon  this  as  a  self-evident  principle. 

If  any  one  should  assert  that  women  are  by  nature  inferior  to  men  in 
mental  endowment,  and  therefore  are  not  competent  to  use,  and  therefore 
can  not  claim,  equal  opportunities,  I  think  the  burden  of  proof  would  rest 
against  him  who  made  the  assertion,  and  we  may  defer  any  disproof,  till 
something  more  than  assertion  is  adduced. 

If  indeed  it  should  be  alleged  that  women  have  not  shoivn  themselves  the 
equals  of  men  in  achievement,  that,  of  the  great  triumphs  won  by  mankind, 
the  vast  preponderance  has  been  due  to  men,  and  an  almost  infinitesimal 
proportion  to  women,  may  not  a  sufficient  reply  be  found  in  the  fact,  that 
men,  with  a  selfishness  truly  masculine,  have  usurped  all  the  opportunities; 
that  women,  destitute,  on  the  one  hand  of  the  cultivated  powers  coming  from 
a  large  education,  have,  on  the  other  hand,  been  without  avenues  to  greatness 
and  without  the  stimulus  which  the  existence  of  these  avenues  would  have 
imparted  ? 

Were  not  the  preternatural  achievements  of  the  army  of  Marengo  and  of 
Austerlitz  due  largely  to  the  principle  announced  by  their  leader,  "  the  career 
open  to  genius,"  and  to  the  apothegm,  "  every  French  soldier  carries  a 
marshal's  baton  in  his  knapsack?"  Are  not  the  limited  attainments  and 
achievements  of  woman  explained  by  the  want  of  possibilities,  the  absence 
of  a  career  ? 

The  enlistment  of  the  Baptist  women  of  America  in  the  work  of  Foreign 
Missions,  just  inaugurated,  is  to  be  hailed  with  gratitude,  not  only  for  the 
blessings  that  will  result  to  the  heathen,  but  equally  for  the  reflex  influence 
upon  our  own  women,  providing  for  them  a  great  object,  and  a  worthy 
employment  for  powers  that  have  so  often  been  wasted  in  idleness,  or  have 
toiled  ingloriously  in  the  service  of  fashion  and  of  interests  mopt  con- 
temptible. 

But,  after  all,  the  question  scarcely  demands  discussion.  Let  both  sexes 
be  treated  with  absolute  justice,  in  the  matter  of  education,  both  be  allowed 
equal  advantages,  both  be  subjected  to  the  same  demands,  and  very  soon  the 
feebler,  the  less  capable  will  fall  behind  and  disappear  from  the  competition. 
The  question  will  settle  itself. 

Surely,  on  the  ground  of  justice,  women  are  entitled  to  as  good  an  oppor- 
tunity of  education  as  men. 

And  if  there  is  to  be  any  discrimination,  the  same  justice  would  indicate 
that  it  should  be  in  favor  of  women. 

First,  because  they  suffer  under  so  many  difficulties,  that  they  require  some 
compensating  advantage  to  place  them  on  a  level.  While  men  are  possessed 
of  superior  physical  strength,  and  hold  in  their  hands  the  vast  preponderance 
of  wealth,  and  wield  the  law-making  power  in  their  own  behalf,  it  certainly 
appears  that  women,  in  order  to  have  any  show  for  a  fair  chance,  need  the 
mental  and  moral  force  derived  from  a  large  and  true  education. 

Everyone  must  have  remarked  that  women  possessed  of  high  intelligence 
and  education,  find  themselves  no  more  than  able  to  hold  their  own,  in  the 
varied  relations  which  they  sustain  to  men,  often  vastly  their  inferiors  in 
everything  but  in  the  adva.itages  given  them  by  the  constitution  of  society. 
But  for  the  possession  of  the  faculties  derived  from  high  culture,  Mrs.  Butler 
and  Mrs.  Norton  would  have  truly  been  objects  of  pity. 

Second,  the  discrimination  should  be  made  in  favor  of  woman,  because 
man  finds,  as  she  does  not,  an  education  in  the  very  circumstances  and 
necessities  of  his  life.    A  husband  and  a  wife  were,  at  the  time  of  their  mar- 


20  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

riage,  equals  in  education  and  in  intellectul  activity.  Compare  them  now, 
after  twenty  years.  The  man  has  mingled  with  his  fellows,  in  business, 
trade,  politics,  legislation:  has  bought  and  sold,  lost  money,  made  money, 
cheated  and  been  cheated,  has  served  in  the  militia,  and  been  out  in  the 
three  months,  has  exhorted  in  religious  meetings,  has  attended  caucusses, 
and  made  nominations,  has  had  his  mind  exercised  in  hearing  and  weighing 
the  arguments  adduced  by  the  ablest  political  speakers  of  the  State;  has 
been  on  the  School  Committee,  has  been  elected  to  the  Legislature,  has  run 
for  Congress,  and  in  common  with  every  adult  male  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  has  expected  to  be  president  Though- ignorant  of  books,  he  is,  in 
some  sense,  an  educated  man.  possessor  of  himself,  a  person,  whom,  though 
you  do  not  love,  you  can  not  ignore. 

And  his  wife.''  She  has  baked,  and  ironed,  taken  the  baby  to  meeting, 
and  entered  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  at  odd  spells.  Possibly  she  has  given 
and  attended  tea-parties,  and  been  Treasurer  of  the  Sewing  Societv.  And 
the  world  says  :  "  Dear  me  !  How  could  Gen.  Blank  marry  such  a  common- 
place woman.-"' 

Not  long  ago  an  intelligent  man  said  to  me  :  "  If  I  had  two  sons,  one  of 
whom  was  to  be  a  professional  man,  and  the  other  a  mechanic  or  tradesman, 
and  if  I  should  make  any  distinction  between  them,  I  would  give  the  better 
education  to  the  latter,  because  the  former  would  soon  acquire  an  education 
in  the  very  practice  of  his  calling."  The  sentiment  is  not  without  an  element 
of  justice  and  at  any  rate  is  useful  as  a  corrective  of  an  injurious  excess  in 
an  opposite  direction.  I  apprehend  that  the  same  principle  may  find  appli- 
cation to  the  matter  now  under  review." 

In  the  long  run,  the  most  impartial  justice  is  always  promotive  of  the 
largest  good.  And  then,  I  am  led  to  remark  that  a  regard  for  the  £reneral 
'i.ve.lfare  demands  the  equal  education  of  women  It  is  not,  and  can  not  be, 
for  the  good  of  society  at  large  that  any  portion  of  it  should  be  hampered 
and  crippled.  No  part  of  the  race  can  attain  its  development,  while  any 
part  lags.  The  right  side  can  not  be  in  health,  while  the  left  is  dwarfed. 
Assuredly  women  have,  even  more  lamentably  than  men,  failed  of  the 
divinely  appointed  destiny.  And  in  this  failure,  have  we  not  all  been  kin- 
dred.''  Has  not  the  injustice  avenged  itself,  by  the  lowered  tone  imparted  to 
society,  by  the  feeble  mental  and  spiritual  life  transmitted  to  the  coming 
generation.' 

There  is,  I  believe,  in  woman,  a  wealth  of  nature,  a  power  of  aspiration, 
attainment,  and  achievement,  now  lying  dormant,  that  needs  only  oppor- 
tunity and  inspiration  to  awake  to  conscious  existence.  Atid  who  can  tell 
how  vastly  the  riches,  the  happiness,  the  elevation  and  glory  of  humanity 
will  be  enhanced,  when  these,  now  undeveloped  resources  shall  be  called 
into  activity.'  Truly,  "  if  one  member  sutlers  all  the  members  suffer  with 
it,  if  one  member  be  honored  all  the  members  rejoice  with  it." 

What  then.'  Granting  that  women  are  to  have  an  equal  education  with 
men.  shall  they  have  just  the  same  education.'  Not  necessarily.  I  do  not 
think  that  every  woman  should  have  just  the  same  education  as  every  man, 
nor  every  man  the  same  as  every  other  man,  nor  every  woman  as  every  other 
woman.  The  Deity  has  not  made  any  two  leaves,  any  two  blades  of  grass, 
any  two  flowers,  exactly  similar.  No  two  faces  are  precise  duplicates.  Shall 
we  suppose  that  He  has  so  constructed  minds,  that  every  one  shall  be  an 
absolute  repetition  of  every  other.' 

"  No  compound  of  this  earthly  ball 
Is  like  another,  all  in  all." 


EDUCATIONAL    CONVENTION.  21 

And  diverse  as  are  the  minds  of  men,  so  diverse  are  their  destinies. 
The  education,  then,  suited  to  each  person  would  seem  to  be  the  one  which 
will  enable  him  to  use  to  the  best  advantage  his  native  powers  so  as  to 
attain  in  the  highest  degree  to  the  destiny  which  God  and  nature  assigned 
him.  It  would  appear,  that  to  no  two  persons  is  there  precisely  the  same 
education,  that  there  is  no  one  absolute  education,  any  more  than  there  is 
one  absolute  rainbow,  but  rather,  as  many  as  there  are  persons. 

To  the  question  then,  Shall  we  give  to  women  and  tojnen  the  self-same 
education.'  I  answer,  not  necessarily  the  same,  but  on  the  same  principles. 
I  would  not  create  one  education  and  say,  "this  is  for  men,"  and  then  another 
and  say,  •'  this  is  for  women."  I  would  provide  for  all,  for  men,  for  women, 
the  largest  and  widest  facilities  of  choice,  and  then  I  would  say  to  every  one, 
be  it  man  or  woman,  "consider  30ur  own  constitution:  consider  the  work  to 
which  you  are  led  bv  your  inward  character  and  your  outward  surroundings. 
And,  whatever  is  the  utterance  of  the  divine  voice  to  _vou,  whether  it  say: 
be  an  artist;  be  a  statesman;  be  a  linguist;  be  a  naturalist;  be  a  tourist;  be 
a  preacher;  be  a  house-keeper;  be  a  trader;  heed  and  follow  this  voice. 

You  understand  that  I  am  now  speaking,  not  of  primary  scholars,  not  of 
babies  at  the  breast,  but  of  young  zi'omen  in  our  higher  institutions,  young 
women  corresponding  to  the  young  men  in  our  colleges,  as  I  am  advised  that 
they  are  sometimes  compared  with  them. 

Is  it  said  they  may  choose  unwisely.'  But  is  it  an\'  more  true  here,  than 
everywhere  else  in  life.'  They  may  choose  unwisely  in  religion,  in  employ- 
ment, in  marriage ;  but  shall  we  therefore  take  from  them  the  power  of  choice  i 

I  learn  with  pleasure  from  my  valued  friend.  Dr.  Gregory,  of  the  Illinois 
Industrial  University,  an  Institution  whose  brief  past  has  been  emiriently 
glorious  and  which  promises  to  achieve  a  future  even  more  splendid,  that  the 
Faculty  of  Instruction  have  arranged  six  courses  of  study  and  that  they  say 
to  each  pupil,  male  or  female.  "  Unless  you  have  some  reason  to  the  con- 
trary, we  advise  you  to  select  and  follow  some  one  of  these.  But  3-ou  are  not 
restricted.  You  may  make  up  a  course  containing  parts  of  two  or  more. 
You  may  select  any  that  you  please  of  the  branches  here  pursued." 

II.  We  are  next  to  consider  the  education  of  the  women  of  the  West.  And 
here  I  profess  myself  a  little  at  a  loss.  I  take  the  topic  as  it  is  given  me; 
yet  I  am  not  sure  that  I  plainly  see  wherein  the  education  required  for  the 
women  of  the  West  differs  from  that  demanded  for  their  sisters  of  the  East, 
save  in  this  :  that  it  is  similar  to  that  for  the  women  of  the  East,  only  more  so. 

Should  not  the  education  of  the  women  of  the  West  be, 

1st  An  education  of  poivers  rather  than  accomplishments^  f  Is  it  not  one 
of  the  crying  sins  of  our  female  education  that  it  gives  so  much  time  to  mere 
accomplishments.'  Thousands  of  voung  women  are  spending  from  two  to 
seven  hours  daily  for  five,  or  perhaps  ten,  successive  years  upon  the  piano, 
and  kindred  instruments  of  torture.  Nor  do  they  intend  this  as  a  means  of 
subsistence.  If  so.  their  perseverance  would  be  praiseworthy.  It  is  to  them 
an  accomplishment,  pure  and  simple.  So  of  the  time  given  to  drawing, 
painting  and  other  ornamental  branches.  Let  me  not  be  misunderstood.  If 
a  person  has  a  natural  bent  for  any  one  ot  these  pursuits,  or  if  circumstan- 
ces point  it  out  as  his  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood,  or  of  conferring  pleas- 
ure upon  himself  or  his  friends,  it  is  well.  Nor  do  I  object  to  these  branches 
being  pursued,  in  moderation,  by  persons  even  who  have  no  special  genius 
for  them.  No  doubt  it  would  be  for  the  benefit  of  us  all,  men  and  women, 
to  understand  something  of  the  rudiments  of  music,  as  also  of  the  laws  of 


22  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

outline  and  color.     It  would  enable  us,  in  a  higher  degree,  to  appreciate  the 
sounds  and  the  aspects  of  nature. 

But  I  object  to  the  excessive  time  devoted  to  these  branches  by  those  who 
have  no  aptitude  for  them,  who  will  make  no  use  of  them  and  who  will  shed 
all  these  fine  feathers  immediately  after  pairing. 

I  have  no  acquaintance  with  these  matters  myself,  but  I  have  been  told 
by  persons  versed  in  music  that  they  find  in  it  but  a  very  sliglit  discipline  and 
improvement  of  the  mental  faculties. 

And  the  value  of  these  accomplishments  is  largely  incidental.  They  are 
greatly  dependent  upon  accidental  circumstances,  for  the  power  to  give 
pleasure  to  one's  self  or  to  others.  So  long  as  pianos  are  in  fashion,  and  so 
long  as  a  person  has  one  at  hand,  the  power  of  performing  upon  it  may  be 
useful.  But  it  is  not  always  that  one  has  a  piano.  There  are  a  great  many 
circumstances  in  life  where  skill  in  the  use  of  this  instrument  would  be  ab- 
solutely worthless. 

But  the  power  of  reasoning,  the  power  of  generalizing,  the  power  of 
gaining  knowledge  from  books  or  from  nature, —  it  is  not  possible  to  con- 
ceive of  a  position  where  these  powers  will  not  be  in  the  highest  degree  use- 
ful and  beneficent.  At  the  head  of  a  prosperous  family,  or  in  poverty  and 
widowhood,  amid  society  or  in  loneliness,  in  youth  and  attractiveness,  or  in 
old  age,  amid  civilization  and  outside  its  bounds,  she  who  is  possessed  of 
these  powers  can  hardly  fail  to  convey  pleasure  and  to  confer  benefits. 

2.  It  should  be  an  education  of  character  rather  than  of  acquisitions.  It 
is  a  good  thing  to  kiioiv  Spanish,  German,  French,  Latin,  Greek,  the  scien- 
ces, history  and  music.  It  is  a  better  thing  to  be  a  woman,  well-balanced, 
master  of  her  own  resources,  calm,  prudent,  inventive,  resolute,  self-reliant, 
hospitable  to  ideas  and  sentiments,  so  pure,  so  large,  so  high,  as  to  com- 
mand reverence,  fulfilling  that  lofty  ideal,  so  familiar  that  I  beg  pardon  for 
quoting  it,  so  just  that  it  can  nardly  be  quoted  too  often  : 

"  A  heing'  breathing  thoughtful  breath; 
A  traveler  between  life  and  death; 
The  reason  firm,  the  temperate  will ; 
Endurance,  foresight,  strength  and  skill; 
A  perfect  woman,  nobly  planned, 
To  guide,  to  counsel  and  command; 
And  yet  a  spirit  too,  and  bright 
With  something  of  an  angel  light." 

"I  am"  was  the  lofty  designation  by  which  the  Deity  chose  to  reveal  Him- 
self to  mankind.  And  I  would  have  the  women  of  the  West  so  educated  that 
they  shall  say  "I  am"  rather  than  "I  know." 

3.  The  education  of  the  women  of  the  West  should  be  one  that  Avill  con- 
tinue through  life  Women  pursue  various  studies  and  make  fair  profi- 
ciency in  them.  Then  they  drop  them  for  aye,  and  languages,  science  and 
music  seem  like  a  dream  of  childhood  to  the  woman  who  has  been  married  ten 
years.  But  is  it  not  possible  to  impart  to  them  an  education  that  shall  be 
so  far  in  accordance  with  the  demands  and  pursuits  of  their  lives  as  to  be 
carried  on.''  And  if  there  are  two  educations,  whereof  the  one  is  sure  to  be 
very  early  discontinued,  while  the  other,  possessing  equal  disciplinary  value 
in  the  present,  has  a  prospect  of  being  carried  forward  through  life,  shall 
we  not  prefer  the  latter?  Physiology,  organic  chemistry,  hygiene, —  surely 
the  daily  experience  of  every  mother  and  housewife  ought  to  keep  these 
studies  bright  by  use.  And  so  of  intellectual  philosophy.  It  has  often  been 
said  that  if  any  one  could  observe  and  record  the  history  of  his  own  mind 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  23 

and  its  gradual  unfoldings,  he  would  write  the  most  valuable  treatise  on 
metaphysics  ever  produced.  But  who  has  a  better  opportunity  than  the 
mother  to  know  the  genesis  of  the  mind  ?  Is  it  not  to  the  nursery  and  to  the 
observations  of  the  mother  that  we  must  look  for  the  facts  that  shall  lie  at 
the  foundation  of  a  true  educational  philosophy?  And  who  has  more  need 
to  know  the  principles  of  ethics  and  to  be  able  to  apply  them  than  the 
mother,  called  upon  to  decide  a  thousand  questions  of  right,  for  her  little 
kingdom,  and  often  compelled  to  be  a  conscience  to  her  husband? 

4.  The  education  of  the  women  of  the  West  ought  to  be  one  that  shall  in- 
duce in  them  iiidefendcncc  rather  than  the  reverse,  dependence  ; —  does  not 
this  one  word  express  the  state  of  our  women  ?  Dependent,  before  marriage, 
upon  their  fathers,  after  marriage,  upon  their  husbands;  dependent  upon 
Mrs.  Grundy  for  their  opinions  and  rules  of  conduct,  dependent  upon  the 
courtesans  of  Paris  for  their  manner  of  dress,  dependent  upon  Bridget  for 
their  dailv  bread;  dependent  because  of  their  ignorance  of  the  world,  their 
ignorance  of  the  laws  affecting  themselves,  their  children,  their  property, 
their  ignorance  of  the  commonest  things.  And  this  dependence,  is  it  acci- 
dental? Is  it  not  rather  the  result  toward  which  their  education  has  pur- 
posely tended?  In  1858,  Dr.  Nott,  in  reply  to  enquiries  addressed  to  him  by 
the  regents  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  touching  the  proposed  co-educa- 
cation  of  the  two  sexes  in  that  Institution,  wrote  :  "  A  difference  of  sex  and  of 
destination  through  the  entire  journey  of  life,  has,  in  the  judgment  of  man- 
kind, been  thought  to  require  a  difference  in  the  distinctive  attributes  to  be 
called  into  exercise,  and  the  peculiar  type  of  character  to  be  formed.  Delicacy 
of  sentiment,  ^feeling  of  dependence-,  and  shrinking  from  the  public  view,  are 
attributes  sought  for  in  the  one  sex;  in  the  other,  decision  of  character,  self- 
reliance,  a  feeling  of  personal  independence  and  a  willingness  to  meet  opposi- 
tion and  encounter  difficulties  "  Surely,  if  it  was  the  design  of  our  system  of 
education  to  produce  in  woman  a  feeling  and  a  condition  of  dependence,  the 
experiment  has  been  a  glorious  success.  But,  despite  the  sincere  veneration 
I  feel  for  the  memory  of  the  Nestor  of  American  instructors;  despite,  also, 
the  unutterable  pangs  which  it  costs  me  even  to  differ  in  opinion  from  any 
human  being,  I  must  express  my  opinion  that  dependence  is  not  a  thing  to 
be  cultivated,  but  rather  that  women,  no  less  than  men,  should  be  self  reli- 
ant, forceful,  in  a  word,  independent,  and  that  our  education  should  have 
this  aim.  It  should  create  in  woman  an  aspiration  for  independence,  a 
sense  of  its  dignity  a  sense  of  the  humiliation  ever  attendant  upon  voluntary 
vassalage  ;  a  conviction  that  "  to  be  weak  is  to  be  miserable."  It  should  give 
to  her  the  power  of  achieving  an  independence.  It  should  give  her  an 
industry,  a  means  of  support.  It  should  teach  her  her  rights,  and  should 
enable  her  to  maintain  them.  It  should  teach  her  to  judge,  to  reason,  to  form 
her  own  opinions,  and  to  rely  upon  them.  Let  her  begin  to  do  something 
for  her  own  support  when  she  attains  to  womanhood,  reckoning  it  unworthy 
of  herself,  as  she  would  deem  it  unworthy  of  her  brother,  to  remain  a  pen- 
sioner on  her  father.  Let  her  be  prepared  to  maintain  herself,  whether  she 
chance  to  find  a  husband,  or  not  Let  her  not  be  forced  to  accept  of  anj- 
offer,  however  distasteful,  for  the  sake  of  a  home,  saying,  "  Put  me  into  one 
of  the  priest's  offices,  (the  priestship  of  wifehood  and  maternity,)  that  I  may 
eat  but  a  morsel  of  bread."  Let  her  be  mistress  in  her  own  house,  able  to 
rule  it,  able  to  hold  in  control  her  domestic  forces,  or,  if  need  be,  to  dispense 
with  them.  I  think  I  have  heard  that  on  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  our  fathers 
declared  tliemselves  independent  of  England.  How  happy  shall  we  be,  if, 
by  a  century  later,  their  daughters  shall  be  independent  of  Ireland.     And 


24  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

this  independence,  I  think  that  a  true  education  can  do  much  to  create  and 
foster.  For  example,  in  regard  to  her  own  household,  a  woman  truly  edu- 
cated will  have  her  own  faculties  perfectly  in  hand,  so  that  she  can  bring 
them  to  bear  on  her  household  work,  in  the  best  way  and  in  the  shortest 
time,  making  it  perceptible  that  even  in  these  ordinary  material  concerns 
there  is  a  difference,  and  that  mind  tells  in  keeping  house  as  in  commanding 
an  army  and  in  writing  a  poem.  A  woman  truly  educated  woufd  discover 
the  difference  between  the  real  and  the  unreal,  between  the  essentials  of 
comfort  and  the  demands  of  fashion,  and  would  reduce  the  labors  of  the 
house  by  emancipating  herself  from  many  enslaving  burdens.  If  she  should 
have  company,  she  would  have  fewer  pies  and  jellies,  but  more  heart  and 
brains  and  tongue.  If  she  has  servants,  she  will  herself  be  at  the  head  of 
the  house,  wielding  the  supremacy  to  which  she  is  entitled  by  virtue  of  her 
character,  her  manifest  superiority.  One  reason  why  the  domestic  does  not 
acknowledge  the  superiority  of  the  lady  of  the  house,  is,  because  there  is  no 
superiority  to  acknowledge,  except  in  the  accident  of  birth  and  position. 

I  do  not  affirm  that  such  an  education  as  I  have  feebly  described,  would 
be  out  of  place  at  the  East.  I  am  sure  that  it  is  demanded  for  the  women  of 
the  West.  • 

There  remains  but  the  question, 

III.  Shall  the  tv/o  sexes  be  educated  together  in  our  higher  institutions 
of  learning.? 

Permit  me  to  say  that  I  regard  this  as  eminently  an  open  question.  While 
I  shall  offer  such  remarks  as  have  occurred  to  me,  I  am  well  aware  that 
many  instructors,  entitled  to  far  more  Consideration  than  myself,  have  been 
led,  by  weighty  arguments,  to  a  different  conclusion.  I  can  but  present  the 
matter  as  it  appears  to  me. 

What  is  our  design  in  the  education  of  the  two  sexes.''  If  the  opinion 
lately  cited  from  Dr.  Nott  is  granted,  his  conclusion  would  seem  inevitable. 
If  we  want  to  produce  in  men  and  in  women  characters  utterly  diverse,  to 
cherish  as  virtues  in  the  one  sex  what  we  repress  as  vices  in  the  other,  then 
surely  he  is  right  in  deciding  against  co-education  ;  for,  as  he  justly  observes, 
"  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  appliances  for  the  production  of  such  opposite 
results  can  be  furnished  by  the  same  agencies,  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the 
same  place." 

But  shall  we  grant  the  premises?  Is  it  our  design  to  produce  in  woman 
a  character  all  softness,  gentleness,  guilelessness,  tenderness,  modesty, 
purity,  ignorance  of  ill,  and  to  create  in  man  a  character  all  wisdom, 
strength,  force,  might,  self-reliance,  boldness  in  attempting^  pride  in  achiev- 
ing, awed  by  no  obstacles,  withheld  by  no  restraints.?  Did  Grace  Darling 
and  Florence  Nightingale,  and  Dorothy  L.  Dix  and  Deborah,  the  prophetess, 
violate  the  proprieties  of  the  one  sex,  when  they  faced  obstacles,  underwent 
dangers,  exhibited  self-reliance,  and  did  not  shrink  from  public  observation.' 
And  was  Napoleon  less  a  man  when  he  shed  a  tear  at  the  sight  of  a  dog 
watching  by  the  body  of  his  slain  master.? 

Closely  allied  to  this  notion  of  a. male  and  a  female  character  is  that  of  a 
male  and  a  female  standard  of  servitude.  A  man  may  be  sensual,  over- 
bearing, unscrupulous,  unfeeling,  provided  only  he  is  not  wanting  in  cotirage. 
A  woman  may  be  cowardlj',  ignorant,  insufficient,  indolent,  deceitful,  pro- 
vided only  she  retain  what  the  world  calls  virtue,  and  provided  she  has  no 
opinion — or,  at  any  rate,  carefully  conceals  this  possession.  A  man  may 
violate  the  seventh  commandment,  and  be  the  idol  of  the  nation,  as  was 
Admiral  Nelson.     A  woman! 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  25 

Are  there,  then,  two  standards  of  rectitude?  Are  there  two  decalogues? 
Are  there  with  us,  as  with  the  heathen,  two  classes  of  deities,  male  and 
female,  given  as  models  for  the  two  sexes  respectively?  Or  have  we  rather 
one  perfect  type  and  exemplar,  who  has  given  us  an  example  that  we  should 
follow  in  his  steps,  and  in  whom  is  neither  male  nor  female?  Is  Christ 
divided,  and  shall  the  one  sex  take  His  courage  and  His  self-reliance,  while 
the  other  appropriates  His  purity  and  His  tenderness?  Is  there  any  trait  that 
is  noble  in  the  one  sex  that  is  not  admirable  in  the  other  as  well? 

It  being  understood,  then,  that  we  do  not  wish,  as  the  result  of  education, 
to  produce  diverse  and  opposite  traits  of  character;  that  we  regard  no  virtue 
as  being  the  property  of  either  sex  alone,  no  vice  as  being  tolerable  in  either, 
and  that  we  shall  secure  the  best  results  by  letting  not  only  each  sex,  but 
each  human  being  of  whatever  sex,  reach  the  highest  development  possible 
on  the  line  which  God  has  indicated,  permit  me  to  remark  : 

1.  Co-education  seems  the  system  approved  by  nature.  The  sexes  are 
associated  in  families  during  youth,  and  the  invariable  experience  is  that 
those  are  the  noblest  women  and  those  the  most  lovely  men  who  grow  up 
in  a  house  where  are  both  brothers  and  sisters.  The  sexes  are  together  in 
the  earlier  part  of  their  education,  and  I  think  I  have  observed  a  tendency 
on  the  part  of  the  two  to  become  closely  associated  during  the  period  of 
maturer  life.  The  drift  of  nature  is  unmistakable,  and  we  are  entitled  to 
ask  —  Why  should  the  few  years  of  the  higher  education  be  an  exception? 

2.  Joint  education  is  commended  on  the  ground  of  a  true  economy.  I 
suppose  that  almost  any  one  of  our  higher  institutions  of  learning  could 
educate  twice  the  number  of  its  present  pupils  with  but  slight  additional 
expense.  Let  us  suppose,  in  any  one  of  our  States,  a  college,  whose  entire 
property  represents  from  $200,000  to  $500,000.  It  is  open  to  young  men 
only.  Now  what  provision  shall  be  made  for  young  women  ?  I  see  but  three 
possible  courses.  We  may  found,  at  equal  expense,  a  college  for  them  ;  we 
may  give  them  an  inferior  education  ;  or  we  may,  with  slight  additional 
expenditure,  throw  open  the  first-named  institution  to  both  sexes. 

It  is  true,  economy  is  not  the  only,  nor  the  leading,  consideration.  There 
is  mone}'  enough  to  supply  all  the  necessities  of  God's  cause;  but  we  ought 
not  to  squander  it.  The  same  voice  that  bade  the  loaves  multiply'  to  the 
demands  of  the  hour,  also  bade  the  disciples  "gather  up  the  fragments," 

Perhaps  it  would  be  more  just  to  say  that,  under  the  system  of  co-educa- 
tion we  can  make  our  means  effective  of  greater  good.  Having  a  given 
amount  of  re.sources  in  money  and  in  competent  instructors,  we  can  produce 
one  institution  for  both  sexes,  that  shall  be  an  honor  to  the  cause  of  Chris- 
tian education,  the  success  of  which  shall  encourage  and  enlarge  the  liber-' 
ality  and  the  holy  enterprise  of  the  people  of  God.  This  is  a  true,  a  far- 
sighted  economy. 

3.  There  is  on  the  part  of  each  of  the  sexes  a  strong  desire  to  secure  the 
approbation  of  the  other.  Men  have  wrought  brave  deeds  to  gain  the  smile 
of  women,  and  women  make  great  sacrifices  to  win  the  admiration  of  men. 
Will  not  the  association  of  the  two  sexes  in  study,  and  the  desire  on  the  part 
of  each  to  excel  in  presence  of  the  other,  prove  a  powerful  stimulant  to 
mental  exertion? 

This  union  of  the  two  sexes  will  naturally  lead  to  the  employment  of  the 
members  of  both  sexes  as  teachers  in  our  higher  institutions.  As  a  result 
there  will  be  opened  before  female  teachers  an  avenue  that  will  quicken  their 
aspirations,  and  there  will  also,  perhaps,  arise  a  degree  of  generous  emu- 
lation between  the  members  of  the  two  sexes  thus  associated  in  the  same 


26  ^  WESTERN   BAPTIST 

noble  calling.  In  this,  as  in  every  similar  contest  between  them,  may  the 
one  keep  perpetually  in  advance,  and  the  other  perpetually  overtake  and 
outstrip  it. 

4.  Each  of  the  sexes  is  naturally  disposed  to  treat  the  other  with  more 
of  deference  than  it  pays  to  its  own  members.  Women  feel  this  in  presence 
of  men.  and  men  are  proverbially  respectful  in  presence  of  females.  The 
vilest  hesitate  to  swear  before  a  woman.  Will  not  this  instinctive  and 
mutual  feeling  of  deference  engender  a  refinement  of  manners,  a  cultivation 
among  those  who  are  educated  together.' 

5.  Will  not  the  educating  young  men  and  young  women  in  the  same 
institution  and  in  the  same  classes  promote  the  greater  happiness  of  each  in 
the  relations  of  future  life.?  Scarcely  anything  makes  or  mars  the  happiness 
of  a  man  more  than  marriage  —  and  of  the  woman  this  is  even  more  true; 
and  yet  there  are  so  many  wretched  marriages  that  the  successes  are  the 
exception.  And  educated  persons  are  by  no  means  exempted,  as  would 
appear  from  the  general  belief  that  women  of  genius  are  apt  to  marry 
dunces,  and  that  men  of  genius  have  a  kindred  liability. 

And  why.?  After  making  due  allowance  for  many  other  causes,  is  it  not 
largely  due  to  the  fact  that  men  marry  knowing  little  or  nothing  of  the 
■women  they  marrj' and  as  little  of  the  sex  at  large,  and  that  women  marry 
in  a  state  of  equal  ignorance.?  A  young  man,  studious  in  his  habits,  retiring 
in  his  disposition,  has  spent  five  or  ten  years  in  comparative  seclusion.  He 
has  read  every  book  except  one  —  the  book  of  human  nature,  in  two  volumes, 
and  he  is  especially  ignorant  of  volume  two.  He  enters  the  world;  he  goes 
into  society;  he  is  dazzled  —  fascinated.  He  thinks  every  woman  an  angel, 
and  only  wonders  where  are  her  wings.  He  falls  in  love,  of  course ; — he 
marries.  It  is  all  a  lottery.  The  same  Providence  that  watches  over  chil- 
dren and  drunken  men  may  watch  over  him,  and  he  may  build  wiser  than 
he  knows.  But  then,  again,  he  may  not.  He  may  marry  an  economical 
housekeeper,  who  will  mend  his  clothes  and  see  to  the  kitchen.  He  may 
marry  a  neat,  well-dressed  nonentity  —  a  bundle  of  negatives. 

And  the  woman  —  is  her  danger  any  less.?  She  enters  life  imagining  that 
every  man  is  a  Bayard,  without  fear  and  without  reproach;  that  every 
divine  is  —  divine,  and  so  on.  And  presently  she  is  married.  She  does  not 
always  find  her  fancies  confirmed  by  experience.  Even  if  the  persons  thus 
united  are  good  in  themselves,  yet,  if  they  are  unsuited,  mismated,  it  is  a 
failure,  no  less. 

Now,  let  us  suppose  that,  for  several  years,  these  persons  had  been  in  the 
same  institution,  had  recited  in  the  same  classes;  they  would  have  measured 
tach  other,  they  would  have  learned  each  other's  faults  and  weaknesses,  they 
would  have  seen  and  heard  each  other's  failures  and  mortifications,  they 
would  have  become  dis-illusioned.  Perhaps  the  irrevocable  step  would  have 
been  deferred,  or,  if  an  early  engagement  were  formed,  it  would  certainly 
be  more  judicious  than  if  contracted  between  persons  ignorant  each  of  the 
other  and  of  the  sex  whereof  the  other  is  a  member.  Such  might  be  pre- 
sumed. I  think,  to  be  the  results  of  joint  education.  And  has  not  experience 
justified  the  expectation .?  The  experiment  (for  it  has  not  ceased  to  be  an 
experiment)  has  been  successful  where  it  has  been  fairly  tried.  Nor  do  I 
know  of  any  institution  in  which  joint  education  has  obtained  where  a 
backward  step  has  been  taken.  But  no  institution  must  think  its  duty  done 
when  it  has  opened  its  doors  and  has  invited  woman  to  repair  thither. 
There  must.be  suitable  facilities;    chiefly,   there   must   be   a   lodging  and 


EDUCATIONAL    CONVENTION.  27 

boarding  hall  for  the  Female  Department,  with  suitable  parlors,  etc.,  where 
the  social  influences  shall  be  under  the  wise  guidance  of  judicious  teachers. 
But  there  are  objections  to  joint  education.  Of  course,  there  are  objec- 
tions to  everything  that  is  proposed,  except,  perhaps,  to  the  annexation  of 
San  Domingo.  For  example,  there  is  urged  the  danger  to  morality.  But 
is  the  danger  annihilated,  or  even  lessened,  by  separate  education.?  I  think 
that  more  scandal  transpires  in  connexion  with  separate  institutions  than 
with  the  reverse.  The  nations  that  have  most  strenuously  practiced  the 
seclusion  of  women,  and  the  separation  of  the  sexes,  have  not  been  dis- 
tinguished for  eminent  purity.  Grant  that  there  is  temptation.  But  life  is 
a  series  of  temptations,  and  education  consists  not  so  much  in  perfectly 
secluding  the  young  from  them,  as  in  teaching  them  to  recognize,  to  com- 
bat, to  conquer  them.  Or  do  you  say  that  by  co-educating  we  are  in  danger 
of  obliterating  the  distinctive  marks  which  characterise  the  two  sexes,  which 
rescue  humanity  from  a  tedious  monotony  render  the  society  of  either  sex  so 
attractive  to  the  members  of  the  other.''  But  do  women  educated  with  men 
cease  to  be  women  .-*  Do  men  at  large  lose  the  distinctive  features  of  their 
character  bj' association  with  each  other.?  If  Michael  Angelo,  Isaac  New- 
ton, Arthur  Wellesley,  James  Watt,  William  Wordsworth,  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte and  Daniel  Boone  had  been  educated  in  the  same  school,  do  you 
imagine  that  no  difference  of  character  would  remain  in  them.?  Do  I  need 
to  add  that  for  women,  as  for  men,  it  is  a  Christian  education  that  is  needed, 
an  education  whose  motives  are  drawn  from  the  Avord  of  God,  an  education 
that  sets  before  each  pupil,  as  the  highest  destiny,  a  life  of  service  to  God 
and  humanity,  a  life  conformed  to  the  example  of  the  man  of  Nazareth  and 
of  Calvarj^  and  informed  by  his  Spirit.? 

W^hen  woman  shall  be  enlightened,  enfranchised,  transfigured  by  a  true 
education  ;  when  there  shall  lie  open  before  her  avenues  to  eminence,  possi-  _ 
bilities  that  shall  be  an  inspiration  :  when  she  shall  fulfill  the  destiny  of  inward 
attainment,  of  outward  achievement,  for  which  God  created  her,  then  need  * 
we  no  longer  look  to  the  far-off"  future  for  the  age  of  gold,  promised  by  poet 
and  prophet.  Already  the  Eastern  sky  will  be  streaked  with  the  dawning 
of  the  Millennium. 

After  the  reading  of  the  paper   the  Convention  adjourned    with 
prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.   Pattison,  of  Illinois. 


AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

2,    p.  M, 

The  session  was  opened  with  prayer  by  Rev.  D.  P.  Smith,  D.D., 
of  Iowa. 

The  subject  of  the  morning  paper  was   taken   up  and  discussed. 

Rev.  Dr.  CUTTING  was  the  first  speaker.  He  regarded  the 
subject  as  one  of  very  grave  importance,  and  one  that  should  awaken 
particular  attention  among  the  Baptists.  The  questions  were 
practical  ones  to  every  person  who  had  to  educate  his  daughter. 
We  could  not  determine  upon  the  capacity  of  the  sexes  whether 
they  should  be  educated  together  or  not.  They  were  sometimes 
compelled  to   educate  them  together,  and  there  was   a  disposition 


28  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

ill  other  places  to  try  the  experiment  thoroughly.  The  venture 
would  be  according  to  tlie  regulations  of  the  institution.  If  they 
were  brought  into  social  relations  there  would  be  large  numbers  of 
matrimonial  alliances  as  the  result.  There  might  be  special  guard- 
ianships, and  under  those  would  be  the  safety.  He  doubted  if  it 
were  dcsiiable  to  unite  the  sexes  in  their  education.  He  had  seen 
marks  of  the  influence  of  female  minds  on  students  who  came  to 
college.  We  should  know  in  the  future,  and  the  (Question  wftuld 
be  settled.  The  whole  subject  is  undergoing  a  pretty  thorough 
discussion  before  the  public,  and  if  argument  can  bring  us  to  a 
sound  and  safe  conclusion,  we  shall  undoubtedly  reach  one  at  an 
early  period. 

Prof  STEVENS,  of  Denison  University,  followed.  He  said 
he  was  a  graduate  of  a  college  where  the  students  took  off'  all  the 
girls  in  town  worth  taking.  There  was  one  he  would  have  carried 
oft'  had  he  not  known  her  mother.  The  male  and  female  colleges 
were  not  united  —  at  Oberlin  the  sexes  were  separate  and  under 
difl'ercnt  teachers.  He  did  not  see  any  danger  from  the  intercourse 
spoken  of  He  approved  the  sentiments  of  the  paper,  tlunking 
them  eminently  wise.  They  are  not  extreme,  one  way  or  the  other, 
but  are  characterized  by  moderation  and  great  good  sense.  He 
was  unable  to  appreciate  the  objections  which  the  opponents  of  the 
admission  of  women  to  our  colleges  urge  against  the  measure. 
They  are  more  a  matter  of  prejudice  than  of  fact  or  reason. 

Judge  BECK,  of  Iowa,  spoke  in  favor  of  extending  the  same 
educational  facilities  to  women  as  to  men.  Without  doubt  the 
women  of  to-day  are  as  highly  educated  as  their  husbands  who  are 
farmers  and  mechanics.  If  women  were  to  be  lawyers,  professors, 
physicians,  etc.,  they  should  be  educated  accordingly.  If  she 
discharged  her  mission  in  this  world,  she  would  be  married  before 
she  was  thirty,  and  slie  would  become  ver  y  well  educated  by  that 
time.  He  would  educate  the  girls  with  the  girls,  and  the  boys 
with  the  boys.  The  standard  of  scholarship  in  mixed  schools  is 
not  as  high  as  in  schools  where  the  sexes  are  separated.  The  right 
of  suffrage  would  probably  be  conferred  on  woman,  but  whether  she 
received  it  or  not,  she  should  be  educated  for  the  sphere  in  which 
she  was  to  move,  and  Latin  and  Greek  would  be  of  little  practical 
use  to  her.  Vet  as  a  means  of  mental  discipline  they  undoubtedly 
would  serve  a  valuable  purpose. 

Prof.  SHEPHARDSON  spoke  to  the  same  effect.  If  there  were 
any  truth  in  the  commonly  received  opinion  that  "  woman  was  the 
divinely-appointed  teacher  of  the  race,"  he  wanted  to  see  woman 
educated  in  some  way.  She  must  have  it.  The  East  had  done 
nothing  scarcely  for  the  education  of  women,  and  the  West  should 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  29 

take  bold  of  the  matter  and  give  them  a  chance.  The  sentiment 
that  she  should  be  as  fully  and  thoroughly  educated  as  man  is  rapidly 
gaining  ground  a.nong  om-  people,  and  he  thought  that  old  preju- 
dices on  this  subject  would  soon  give  way  to  a  more  enlightened 
feeling  than  had  hitherto  prevailed. 

Prof.  TEN  BROEK,  of  Michigan  University,  remarked  that  he 
had  in  his  experience  generally  found  women  apt  to  teach.  Many 
excelled  as  teachers.  And  it  is  not  an  uncommon  thing,  for  the 
female  part  of  the  family  to  receive  better  education  than  the  males. 
Aside  from  the  professions,  the  women  were  educated  as  well,  if  not 
better  than  the  men.  After  going  to  a  certain  extent  in  these  reforms 
we  should  fight  against  nature,  and  the  women  would  never  get  into 
politics  much  —  a  woman  would  never  be  President. 

Prof  JEWETT,  of  Milwaukee,  wished  to  hear  from  some  one 
who  had  had  experience  in  educating  the  sexes  together.  There 
was  nothing  like  experience  as  tests  for  questions  like  this. 

Prof.  CURRIER,  of  Iowa,  replied  that  the  results  had  been 
entirely  satisfactory  wherever  the  experiment  had  been  tried.  The 
students  were  none  the  less  manly  or  womanly  ;  nor  were  they  less 
scholarly.  So  far  as  his  experience  went,  the  girls  stood  as  high  in 
the  classes  as  the  boys.  He  saw  no  objections  to  the  new  policy, 
but  everything  in  its  favor. 

Rev.  THOMAS  BRAND,  of  Iowa,  said  that  the  experience  of 
the  college  at  Grinnell  had  been  equally  satisfactory.  The  plan 
had  worked  well. 

Rev.  D.  H.  COOLEY,  of  Iowa,  said  that  so  far  as  the  Lawrence 
University  at  Appleton,  Wis.,  is  concerned,  the  average  lady  gradu- 
ates were  superior  to  the  males,  and  there  had  not  been  the  slightest 
trouble  arising  from  the  admission  of  both  sexes. 

Rev.  Dr.  ALLEN,  of  Minnesota,  could  indorse  all  that  had  been 
said  on  this  point.  He  was  decidedly  in  favor  of  educating  the  sexes 
together.  The  experiment  had  even  turned  out  better  than  its 
friends  anticipated. 

The  Convention  then  listened  to  a  paper  by  Rev.  Sampson  Tal- 
bot, D.D.,  President  of  Denison  University,  Ohio,  upon 

THE  PLACE  OF  SCIENTIFIC  STUDIES  IN  PRESENT  EDUCATION. 

If  the  so-called  "New  Education''  is  really  a  higher  education,  the  world 
needs  to  know  it;  for  the  intellectual  forces  of  a  nation  determine  the  grade 
of  its  civilization,  no  less  than  its  philosophy  and  its  morals.  Certain  it  is 
that  there  is  an  increasing  dissatisfaction  in  the  public  mind  with  the  pres- 
ent modes  of  education.  The  origin  of  this  dissatisfaction  is  to  be  sought, 
partly,  no  doubt,  in  that  restless,  revolutionary  spirit  now  abroad,  which  is 


3©  WESTERN-    BAPTIST 

opposed  to  everything  existing  just  because  it  exists,  and  would  make  all 
things  new  out  of — it  yet  knows  not  what.  The  summons  to  reform  is 
sometimes  only  a  summons  to  destroy.  It  may  proceed,  in  part,  also,  from 
changed  conditions,  and  be  able  to  justify  itself  by  appeal  to  actual  serious 
defects  in  the  present  education.  The  demand  for  reform  has  at  least  thus 
far  made  good  its  claim  to  have  a  hearing.  The  reform  demanded  is  briefly 
this:  that  the  Modern  Sciences  shall  take  the  place  of  much  of  the  old 
learning;  in  particular,  that  the  Greek  and  Latin  shall  give  way  to  modern 
languages  and  special  studies. 

The  topic  assigned  me  may  be  treated  specifically,  as  the  place  of  Scientific 
Studies  in  present  collegiate  education,  or,  more  comprehensively,  tlie  place 
of  these  studies  in  general  education.  As  answering  best  what  I  conceive 
to  be  the  needs  of  the  present  occasion,  I  shall  first  consider  the  subject  in 
its  wider  applications,  taking  the  different  branches  of  study  in  their  general 
relations;  and  next  seek  to  determine  the  place  of  Scientific  Studies  in  the 
present  college  system  of  this  country.  The  terms  Science  and  Scientific, 
unless  otherwise  qualified,  will  be  understood  to  refer  in  accordance  with 
common  usage  to  the  physical  sciences.  It  may  be  necessary,  in  order  to 
guard  against  any  possible  misunderstanding,  to  remark  at  the  outset,  that 
if  this  paper  shall  assume  somewhat  the  form  of  a  polemic,  it  should  be 
ascribed  to  the  exclusive  claims  set  up  by  some  in  behalf  of  the  study  of 
Science,  not  to  any  intention  to  depreciate  the  true  value  of  Science,  as  an 
instrument  of  education.  What,  then,  is  the  relation  of  these  sciences  to 
other  branches  of  education? 

The  physical  sciences  are  in  some  respects  quite  subordinate.  They  are 
inferior,  in  the  first  place,  to  metaphysics.  They  are  occupied  with  the 
finite  and  the  conditioned,  and  their  methods  are  not  applicable  beyond 
these.  The  sphere  of  their  movement  is  the  closed  circle  of  secondary 
causes,  and  they  can  not  embrace  in  their  view  either  absolute  beginnings 
or  absolute  endings,  or,  indeed,  independent  existence  of  any  kind.  They 
never  can  rise  to  the  conception  of  a  just  cause,  nor  of  the  true  infinite. 
Hence  they  are  not  competent  to  speak  on  the  question  of  the  existence  of 
God,  or  the  mode  of  His  connection  with  nature,  of  an  original  act  of  crea- 
tion, of  final  causes,  of  the  possibility  of  a  revelation,  or,  in  general,  of  the 
supernatural.  They  can  not,  in  fact,  account  ultimately  for  anything;  they 
can  not  give  all  the  reasons  why  anything  is  at  all,  or  why  it  is  as  il  is. 
They  have  to  take  things  just  as  they  find  them,  and  operate  only  in  the 
sphere  of  the  dependent.  The  field  and  the  method  of  the  natural  sciences, 
therefore,  definitely  exclude  them  from  the  field  and  the  method  of  meta- 
physics; and  those  who  affect  to  despise  metaphysics  in  the  interests  of 
positive  science  would  do  well  to  consider  the  limitations  which  they  impose 
upon  themselves.  It  is  quite  possible  that  a  little  metaphysics  would  be  a 
healthful  propaedeutic  to  some  of  the  scientific  theorists  of  our  times.  We 
should  at  any  rate  hear  less  of  physical  science  as  an  adequate  interpreter 
of  nature  and  as  about  to  present  us  with  the  final  explanation  of  the 
universe.  Not  even  evolution  can  dispense  with  creation,  nor  natural  selec- 
tion with  final  causes;  for  a  philosophy  of  development  is  not  a  philosophy 
of  origin,  and  progress  by  selection  does  not  carry  itself  on  without  any 
ultimate  principle  or  reason  of  the  movement.  No  process  in  things  already 
existing  can  dispense  with  the  act  which  gave  them  existence,  nor  can  the 
process  account  for  itself,  nor  eliminate  from  itself  the  intelligence  which 
originated  it  and  guides  it  to  its  end.  The  natural  sciences,  then,  can  never 
construct  a  philosophy  of  nature,  for  two  reasons;   first,  because  they  find 


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3 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  3  I 

all  their  material,  their  principles,  forces  and  laws,  already  existent,  and 
have  to  begin  with  these  as  given;  and,  secondly,  because  nature  itself  is 
nothing  to  the  man  of  science  until  he  thinks  it,  that  is,  interprets  it,  not  by 
his  senses,  not  by  experience,  but  by  thought.  Nature  as  such  embraces 
only  the  manifold  of  objects;  its  unity,  its  laws,  man  finds  in  his  own  reason. 
The  outer  world  knows  no  difference  between  the  one  and  the  many,  knows 
nothing  of  number,  nothing  of  genera  and  species,  of  substance  and  attri- 
bute;  but  these  are  intellectual  elements,  they  are  thoughts.  Mind  is  a 
deeper  fact  than  matter;  thought  is  the  only  interpreter  and  the  only  prin- 
ciple of  the  universe.  Hence  philosophy  is  superior  to  science  and  gives  to 
the  sciences  their  eyes  and  their  light  and  their  seeing. 

Nor,  in  the  second  place,  can  the  sciences  be  substituted  for  mathematics 
in  any  system  of  education.  No  one,  we  suppose,  claims  that  they  can. 
Mathematics  has  a  distinct  field  and  method  of  its  own.  It  treats  of  the 
relations  of  quantity  in  space  and  of  number  in  time,  while  the  sciences  treat 
of  the  objects  themselves  and  of  the  relations  of  their  parts  in  organisms. 
As  to  method,  mathematics  is  a  purely  abstract  science,  with  the  single  rela- 
tion of  equality  between  its  terms,  and  hence  is  throughout  analytical.  It 
is  this  which  gives  to  mathematics  its  accuracy  and  universality.  All  its 
elements  are  placed  together  in  their  simplest  state,  so  that  the  truth  of  every 
relation  affirmed  may  become  self-evident.  The  sciences,  on  the  contrary, 
deal  with  concrete  objects,  standing  in  various  relations  to  one  another,  and 
their  method  is  one  of  induction  and  synthesis.  Further,  mathematics  enters 
more  or  less  into  the  basis  of  all  the  sciences.  Nothing  physical  exists  which 
does  not  have  elements  that  are  mathematical.  The  law  of  the  correlation 
of  forces  brings  all  the  parts  of  nature  into  definite  relations.  And  though 
this  law  becomes  less  obvious  and  less  important  as  we  ascend  higher,  it 
may  not  be  too  much  to  anticipate  that  even  those  sciences  which  converse 
with  organized  and  living  forms  may  yet  be  classed  among  the  exact  sciences. 
Mathematics  is  then  of  necessity  a  first  study,  a  preparatory  for  all  the 
sciences.  How  far  it  should  be  carried  in  a  system  of  education  will  be 
considered  further  on. 

In  the  third  place,  can  scientific  studies  take  the  place  of  the  study  of 
language?  Langiiage  lies  next  to  mind;  it  is  the  immediate  incarnation  of 
thought.  The  study  of  language  is  the  introduction  of  literature,  history, 
and  philosophy,  and  thence  to  the  social  and  political  sciences.  All  the 
learning  and  wisdom  of  the  race,  all  the  accumulated  experiences  of  the 
past,  are  borne  down  to  us  on  the  stream  of  language ;  by  it  man  comes  into 
connection  with  the  whole  vast  organism  known  as  humanity.  Without  it, 
he  would  be  chiefly  limited  to  the  sphere  of  his  own  senses  :  without  it,  there 
would  be  no  history  and  the  world  would  not  constitute  a  community.  And 
since  some  of  the  most  painful  periods  in  the  history  of  our  race,  the  germ- 
inal and  formative  eras,  are  hidden  from  the  present  in  tongues  which  have 
ceased  to  be  spoken,  they  can  be  summoned  before  the  stndent  in  living 
forms  only  by  acquaintance  with  these  languages.  It  is  evident,  then,  that 
the  sciences  can  never  take  the  place  of  this  study. 

Can  they,  in  the  fourth  place,  be  substituted  for  those  studies  which  have 
for  their  subject  the  human  inind.''  But  they  do  not  explore  this  realm  at  all, 
the  most  productive,  the  nearest  of  all  to  us.  Man  will  never  cease  to  be 
interested  in  himself;  the  mental  sciences  will  continue  to  engage  his  atten- 
tion. Logic,  psychology,  and  moral  philosophy,  reveal  man  to  himself  and 
declare  to  him  the  end  for  which  he  was  created.  He  desires  and  needs  to 
know  the  objective  world;  but  he  himself,  his  whence,  his  whither,  his  busi- 


33  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

ness  here,  are  more  important  to  him.  Moreover,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
human  spirit  is  tiie  interpreter  of  nature  and  science  itself  is  impossible 
except  in  so  far  as  matter  is  brouglit  unJer  thought.  The  methods  of  science 
are  the  bequest  of  the  thinker ;  it  is  the  image  of  God  in  man  which  gives 
him  the  key  to  the  material  universe;  only  as  he  is  awakened  to  self-know- 
ledge can  he  truly  know  other  things.  The  adoption  of  fruitful  methods  of 
inquiry  is  vastly  more  important  to  science  than  the  disco\ery  of  new  facts. 
Facts  in  themselves  are  nothing;  they  become  significant  only  in  their  rela- 
tion to  principles ;  and  the  chief  endeavor  of  science  to-day  is  the  improve- 
ment of  its  metliods  and  the  perfecting  of  its  classification,  for  which  it  is 
dependent  on  applied  logic  and  intellectual  insight. 

The  physical  sciences,  it  will  thus  be  seen,  are  not,  in  some  important 
respect-;,  co-ordinate  branches  of  general  education;  they  are  not  entitled  to 
an  equal  rank  with  metaphysics,  mathematics,  philology  and  the  mental 
sciences.  The  latter  are  strictly  first  studies,  furnishing  the  principles  and 
the  instruments  for  all  others.  What  then  can  the  natural  sciences  do.'  They 
are  commended  as  practical  studies;  but  practical  in  the  sense  of  ministering 
to  the  material  wants  of  mankind  belongs  not  to  our  subject.  What  can 
they  do  in  education  ?  Ftrst,  these  sciences,  occupied  with  the  external  world, 
give  elementary  training  to  the  perceptive  faculties  and  engage  all  the  senses 
in  the  investigation  of  the  facts  of  nature;  thus  delivering  the  soul  from  the 
bondage  of  visionary  abstractions  and  the  dreams  of  idealism.  Scco?icl(y, 
they  are  particularly  adapted  to  the  improvement  of  a  certain  class  of  minds, 
and  thus  become  the  instruments  of  intellectual  awakening  to  some  who 
would  never  otherwise  have  known  their  capabilities;  and  they  are  also  to 
most  minds  an  agreeable  relief  from  the  profounder  attention  required  by 
mathematics  and  philosophy,  and  give  a  change  and  a  new  spring  to  the 
jaded  mental  powers.  Thirdly,  they  connect  the  observation  of  facts  with 
the  laws  of  thought,  and  in  the  hands  of  a  skillful  instructor  may  become 
instruments  of  the  most  exact  logical  method  and  of  the  widest  philosophical 
generalization;  and  in  this  application  they  must  be  allowed  to  be  of  the 
greatest  value  as  a  means  of  intellectual  discipline.  Fourthly,  science  and 
metaphysics  mutually  supplement  each  other.  The  world  of  thought  and 
the  world  of  matter  are  in  correspondence;  and  the  student  of  nature  is 
enabled  often  to  make  real  and  clear,  to  give  actualization  to  the  reflections 
of  the  philosopher.  Science  seeks ///e  //(^w  of  things,  philosophy  thevihy; 
but  there  is  some  point  where  these  must  meet  and  agree;  the  a  priori 
method  will  come  down  with  its  empty  form  of  thought,  the  a  posteriori  wil  1 
carry  up  the  material  which  is  to  fill  and  realize  the  form  ;  and  thus  the  great 
circle  of  knowledge  will  be  made  complete.  Fifthly,  the  relations  of  the 
sciences  have  brought  them  into  special  prominence.  Scientific  reflection 
has  been  pushed  to  the  border-land  of  metaphysics  and  theology,  and  is 
weeping  to  cross  over  and  conquer  these  worlds.  Science  lies  at  the  basis  of 
almost  every  living  question  between  mere  materialism  and  the  Christian 
faith.  Its  progress  will  undoubtedly  affect  the  traditional  interpretation  of 
portions  of  the  Holy  Scriptures;  natural  theology,  also,  though  it  will  in  the 
end  be  placed  upon  a  firmer  basis,  will  need  to  be  somewhat  re-cast.  The 
Christian  educator  can  not  be  silent  on  these  questions  in  the  class-room,  the 
minister  in  the  pulpit  can  not  altogether  ignore  them  ;  and  neither  can  afford 
to  have  but  a  superficial  acquaintance  with  them. 

We  now  pass  to  the  second  division  of  our  subject  —  the  position  to  be 
assigned  to  scientific  studies  in  the  college  system  of  education.  Do  the 
tendencies  of  the  times  indicate  that  the   elementary  education  of  youth  in 


EDUCATIONAL    CONVENTION.  33 

this  country  is  likely  to  be  more  special  in  its  nature  —  practical,  as  it  is 
called  —  or  to  be  more  universal,  so  that,  so  far  as  it  goes,  it  shall  fit  the 
student  for  all  spheres  of  activity?  It  is  probable  that  other  schools  for 
special  purposes  will  be  multiplied;  but  will  the  college  hold  fast  its  profes- 
sion of  liberal  training  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  or  will  it  be  modified  by  the 
special  schools  and  become  more  like  them  ?  That  it  will  remain  substantially 
the  same  as  it  is  now  we  have  no  doubt.  The  education  which  the  college 
is  to  furnish  must  be  of  such  a  nature  that  it  will  not  decide  beforehand  for 
the  student  what  his  course  of  life  must  be,  but  will  rather  give  him  the  key 
to  his  capabilities,  and  enable  him  to  choose  freely  his  own  vocation  and 
decide  his  own  destiny.  It  is  precisely  this  grand  purpose  of  education  which 
the  special  and  so-called  practical  schools  never  can  accomplish,  and  hence 
they  are  really  less  practical  than  the  liberal  system. 

If,  now,  this  is  the  primary  object  of  the  college,  to  open  the  gates  of 
knowledge  in  all  directions  and  prepare  the  student  for  all  spheres  of  life, 
what  changes,  if  any,  in  the  present  course  of  studies  is  required,  and,  in 
particular,  how  large  a  place  must  be  given  to  the  natural  sciences.''  As  to 
the  so-called  demands  of  the  times  and  the  spirit  of  the  age,  to  which  many 
confidently  appeal  for  the  settlement  of  this  question,  we  dismiss  them  from 
consideration,  for  the  reason  that  the  times  and  the  age  are  an  exceedingly 
doubtful  and  variable  standard,  and  the  methods  of  education  must  not  be 
submitted  to  the  popular  vote,  but  determined  by  the  widest  and  soundest 
principles.  Let  education  be  for  the  higher  ideas,  the  higher  faculties,  and 
the  higher  modes  of  thought,  or  give  up  all  things  that  are  high  !  The  ques- 
tion then  is — What  are  the  comparative  values  in  a  system  of  education,  in 
their  relation  to  the  unfolding,  the  reforming,  and  the  training  of  the  mind; 
of  scientific,  linguistic,  mathematical,  and  philosophical  studies  ?  To  give 
the  mind  development  and  a  right  direction  is  more  than  to  store  it  with 
facts;  hence  every  study  in  any  scheme  of  education  must  be  pursued  in  a 
strictly  scientific  manner — that  is,  with  reference  to  principles  and  system, 
rather  than  details. 

What,  now,  is  the  power  of  language-study  in  education.?  This  will  prop- 
erly include  in  it  the  departments  of  rhetoric  and  literature,  so  far  as  these 
are  conducted  on  the  basis  of  language-study.  The  formation  of  language 
exhibits  the  stages  by  which  pure  intellect  becomes  object  to  itself  In  words 
the  secret  processes  of  thought  are  exposed  ;  hence  it  is  the  most  potent 
discipline  of  the  whole  course.  The  profound  analysis  and  superior  grasp 
of  thought  which  this  study  gives  have  long  been  noted  by  educators.  It  is 
emphatically  a  culture-study.  As  a  preparation  also  for  the  whole  circle  of 
metaphysical  studies,  its  value  is  unequaled ;  hence  the  study  of  language 
must  always  form  the  principal  basis  of  a  college  education.  But  why  not 
study  the  modern  languages,  as  German  and  French,  instead  of  the  so-called 
dead  languages.?  We  have  no  space  for  argument,  and  can  only  meagerly 
suggest.  If  the  chief  purpose  of  education  is  the  development,  discipline, 
and  elevation  of  the  mental  powers,  then  the  question  whether  we  shall 
employ  the  ancient  or  the  modern  languages  is  not  pertinent.  What  lan- 
guages are  best  for  that  result.-'  We  hold  that  no  modern  languages  are 
equal  to  the  Latin  and  Greek  as  culture-studies.  They  belonged  to  the  flow- 
ering period  of  human  thought.  The  Greek  is  the  classic  for  all  time.  As 
an  instrument  of  education,  let  its  scientific  structure,  its  marvelous  creations 
and  its  aesthetic  influence  on  mind  and  heart,  bear  witness.  So  long  as  it 
can  boast  a  Homer,  a  Plato,  and  a  Gospel,  more  need  not  be  urged  against 
its  exclusion  from   any  course  worthy  of  the  term  liberal.     If  the  modern 

3 


34 


WESTERN    BAPTIST 


college  can  dispense  with  all  that,  in  the  interest  of  mere  material  investiga- 
tion, then  must  the  tendencies  of  modern  life  be  simply  to  the  surface  and 
to  the  outside  of  things,  or  the  modern  college  is  doomed  to  short  life. 

As  to  the  Latin,  mo>it  of  the  tongues  of  modern  Europe  are  only  modifica- 
tions of  Latin,  and  can  best  be  learned  through  Latin.  Even  our  own 
English  can  better  be  approached  from  some  of  its  sides  through  the  same 
medium.  Greek  and  Latin  strike  their  roots  into  the  very  heart  of  English. 
From  them  we  draw  our  terms  for  exact  science,  law,  theology  and  medicine. 
If  it  be  true  that  whoever  speaks  to  the  popular  heart,  draws  his  vocabulary 
from  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  bed,  it  is  equally  as  true  that  whoever  gives  expres- 
sion to  high  thought  and  reflection,  resorts  to  Latin  root-words.  Grammar 
can  not  be  learned  from  English,  which  has  to  so  great  an  extent  laid  aside 
grammatical  forms.  It  is  to  be  remembered,  moreover,  that  the  study  of 
Greek  and  Latin  is  the  study  of  ancient  history,  of  rhetoric  and  literature,  in 
a  word,  is  the  study  of  humanity.  But  we  must  forbear.  When  one  was 
asked  what  he  got  from  all  his  Greek  and  Latin  at  Eton,  he  replied,  "The 
power  to  get  whatever  else  I  like."  The  average  classical  scholar  will,  in  a 
short  time,  overtake  and  pass  the  average  specialist  even  in  his  own  depart- 
ment. There  need  be  no  fear  that  the  ancient  classics  will  be  unable  to  hold 
their  place  in  the  best  colleges  of  this  country. 

The  mathematics  must  be  taught  in  college.  As  an  instrument  of  educa- 
tion the  mathematics,  by  almost  universal  consent,  hold  an  important  place. 
They  involve  attention  and  abstraction,  the  two  processes  which  lie  at  the 
basis  of  all  intellectual  cultivation.  They  also  set  before  us  the  most  per- 
fect type  of  deductive  reasoning.  We  do  not  think,  however,  that  exclusive 
attention  to  mathematics  exerts  so  favorable  an  intellectual  influence  as  the 
exclusive  study  of  language  and  philosophy.  The  sphere  of  mathematics  is 
the  hard,  dry  forces  of  the  intellect,  not  the  organized  system  of  human 
society  and  the  powers  of  the  human  soul,  not  the  humanities,  not  man  in 
his  completeness.  And  yet  the  college  can  not  well  dispense  with  any  por- 
tion of  the  usual  mat  lematical  course.  It  can  not,  at  least,  well  stop  short 
of  the  calculus,  which,  as  conducting  the  mind  on  from  definite  quantity  to 
indefinite  process,  forms  the  proper  transition  from  the  material  to  the 
mental ;  and  it  should  also  include  applied  mathematics  so  far  as  to  natural 
philosophy  and  astronomy,  as  examples  of  the  application  of  the  exact 
method  to  facts  of  observation. 

The  various  mental  sciences,  such  as  logic,  psychology,  morals,  phil- 
osophy, etc.,  constitute  a  necessary  part  of  every  liberal  education.  They 
lead  to  thoughlfulness  and  the  awakening  of  the  free  activity  of  the 
mind.  By  means  of  these  the  individual  passes  out  from  the  partial  to  the 
universal,  from  dependence  to  internal  freedom  and  self-possession,  which 
alone  give  true  insight  and  practicalness  to  the  intelligence.  These  studies, 
when  sufficiently  long  pursued,  are  not  only  a  training  but  a  regeneration  of 
the  mjnd.  Huxley,  indeed,  in  his  "Lecture  on  a  Piece  of  Chalk"  affirms 
that  "the  man  who  shall  know  the  true  history  of  a  bit  of  chalk,  if  he  will 
think  his  knowledge  out  to  its  ultimate  results,  is  likely  to  have  a  truer  and, 
therefore,  a  better  conception  of  this  wonderful  universe  and  of  man's  rela- 
tion to  it,  than  the  most  learned  student,  who  is  deep  read  in  the  records  of 
humanity  and  ignorant  of  those  of  nature."  But  we  still  think  that  the 
lecturer  himself  was  a  vastly  more  interesting  subject  of,  study  than  the 
piece  of  chalk  he  held  in  his  hand,  or,  indeed  than  the  whole  cretaceous 
period ;  and  we  think  there  are  depths  in  humanity  profounder  than  physical 
science  has  line  to  measure.     It  is  these  introspective  studies  which  give  a 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  35 

peculiar  balance  to  the  faculties,  which  elevate  the  sentiments  of  men  and 
enable  them  to  know  themselves.  They  correct  the  tendencies  of  the  world, 
and,  leading  man  into  the  interior  sanctuary  of  his  own  nature,  prevent  a  one- 
sided development  in  the  direction  of  materialism  and  utilitarianism.  We 
do  not  see  how  that  education  is  complete  for  its  purposes  which  assigns  to 
these  subjects  an  inferior  place. 

Must  the  present  course,  then,  remain  unchanged.'  There  are  some  who 
say,  "Yes;  let  the  college  go  on  as  heretofore.  Let  those  who  want  the 
new  studies  go  to  the  special  schools  for  them.  The  college  as  it  has  been 
has  justified  its  right  to  be  the  college  of  the  future."  But  this,  we  think  is 
an  extreme.  If  college  education  is  to  be  in  the  high  sense  a  generous  edu- 
cation, it  must  embrace,  so  far  as  possible,  the  whole  system  of  co-ordinated 
knowledge.  The  development  of  the  ph^'sical  sciences  in  our  day,  and  the 
extension  of  intellectual  interchange  among  nations,  render  necessary  a 
widening  of  the  circle  of  studies,  in  order  to  completeness  in  the  system. 
Hence  the  physical  sciences  and  the  modern  languages  are  entitled  to  a 
larger  place  than  has  hitherto  been  given  them  in  the  course.  Others  say, 
"Let  us  have  optional  studies.  After  a  certain  stage,  the  sophomore  year 
perhaps,  let  the  course  be  elective  and  let  the  student  choose  for  himself 
what  studies  he  will  pursue,  according  to  the  bias  of  his  genius  and  the  pur- 
pose of  his  life,  without  prejudice  to  his  degree."  Now,  one  obvious 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  elective  system  is  that  only  the  largest  colleges 
can  successfully  carry  it  out.  The  number  of  teachers  must  be  correspond- 
ingly increased  or  the  quality  of  the  teaching  must  more  than  correspond- 
ingly deteriorate.  It  would  be  the  extremest  folly  for  nine-tenths  of  the 
colleges  of  this  country,  with  their  present  teaching  force,  to  attempt  it. 
But  further:  the  principle  should  first  be  settled.  If  the  views  which  have- 
now  been  advanced  in  this  paper  as  to  the  requisites  of  a  complete  collegiate 
education  are  correct,  or  approximate  correctness,  the  elective  system  is  an 
inferior  system,  a  concession  to  loose,  popular  demand,  at  the  expense  of" 
sound  scholarship  and  a  full  and  symmetrical  development  of  mind.  That  ii 
has  some  advantages  no  one  will  deny.  It  is  well  for  the  student  to  be 
familar  with  microscopy,  but  is  that  an  educational  equivalent  for  Demos- 
thenes or  for  Logic'  The  elective  system  is,  in  fact,  just  at  the  point  where 
it  begins,  the  termination  of  a  liberal  education  and  a  divergence  into  pro- 
fessional schools;  in  other  words,  the  attempt  to  found  a  university  proper 
on  the  basis  of  the  education  of  a  sophomore.  Now,  we  hold  that  the 
student  should  first  acquire  the  power  of  mastering  special  subjects,  and 
that  this  power  is  not  to  be  gained  by  any  limited  and  special  employment 
of  his  faculties,  which  can  be  equally  and  evenly  developed  only  by  general 
cultivation  and  discipline.  Nor  must  it  be  overlooked  that  in  the  elective 
system  the  danger  is  great,  lest,  in  the  multitude  of  studies  set  before  him, 
the  exact  nature  of  which  he  may  know  but  little  about,  the  student  be 
hurried  from  one  thing  to  another,  and  do  nothing  well.  If  our  institutions 
generally  are  compelled  by  high  example  to  become  schools,  in  great  part,. 
of  mere  practical  or  special  education,  let  it  be  with  the  distinct  understand- 
ing that  it  will  be  quite  as  certain  to  result  in  the  degradation  as  in  the 
popularization  of  the  college  system. 

But  without  displacing  the  old  studies,  without  relinquishing  the  old 
means  and  methods,  the  object  sought  of  enlarging  the  old  course  so  as  to 
include  the  new  studies,  may  perhaps  be  accomplished  in  another  way: 
First,  the  text-books  and  methods  of  teaching  may  be  improved.  Instead 
of  making  every  study  complete  in  itself,  let  it  be  completed  only  in  its  rela- 


36  WESTERN   BAPTIST 

tion  to  the  general  sj-stem  of  studies.  While  the  first  principles  and  general 
applications  of  every  subject  are  taught  more  thoroughly  than  ever  before, 
let  every  excess  of  details,  which  only  cumber  the  mind,  be  avoided. 
Secondly,  the  preparatory  course  may  be  extended.  Three  years  of  prepar- 
ation are  short  enough  for  entrance  into  the  Freshman  class;  but  in  these 
three  years  some  of  the  Freshman  studies  of  the  present  course  would  be 
included.  This  would  make  room  for  new  studies  in  the  upper  classes,  and 
is  probably  the  practical  solution  of  the  problem  of  modern  education  to 
which  we  are  coming.  This  is,  at  any  rate,  a  solution  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. 

The  cause  of  education  is  next  in  importance  to  the  cause  of  religion,  and 
must  not  be  imperilled  by  unwise  experiments.  The  American  college  is 
peculiar.  It  is  the  central  idea  in  our  whole  system  of  education.  It  may 
not  be  already  perfect;  it  does  not  profess  to  do  everything;  it  is  neither  a 
professional  school  nor  a  university;  but  the  American  college  has  made 
the  education  of  our  people  what  it  is,  and  still  stands  in  the  van  of  progress. 
E$to  ferpetica,  with  its  grand  ideal,  the  place  of  Hard  Work,  Severe  Disci- 
pline and  High  Culture  ! 

The  discussion  on  this  paper  was  opened  by  President  DODGE,  of 
Madison  University.  He  was  in  favor  of  making  our  colleges  and 
imiversities  as  complete  and  efficient  as  possible,  and  held  that  the 
■capability  of  interpreting  the  ancient  languages  was  of  immense  aid 
to  ministers.  They  could,  with  this  aid,  go  to  the  root  of  the  Scrip- 
lures  they  taught ;  otherwise  they  would  be  compelled  to  accept 
knowledge  at  second  hand.  There  would  be  no  fear  of  science  or 
of  speculative  learning,  if  the  foundations  are  secure.  Collegiate 
education  should  be  prized,  not  alone  for  its  practical  use,  as  is  too 
much  the  inclination  now-a-days,  but  for  the  culture  and  breadth  of 
view  which  it  gives. 

Dr.  MOSS,  of  Philadelphia,  regarded  the  paper  as  one  of  high 
•order.  He  protested  against  so  much  stress  being  laid  upon  the  so- 
called  practical  education  of  the  day.  It  is  coming  to  be  considered 
too  much  of  a  mere  instrumentality  for  making  money.  Education 
is  becoming  too  materialized.  It  was  not  well  to  run  all  to  utility, 
leaving  out  the  higher  aims  and  objects  of  •  intellectual  cidture. 
There  should  be  a  wise  blending  of  both.  No  system  of  thought 
■could  offer  higher  or  truer  culture  than  tliat  promoted  by  the  religion 
of  Christ.  Christian  educators  should  never  allow  themselves  to 
separate  religion  and  mental  culture.  Combined,  they  produced  the 
highest  condition  of  man. 

Prof  CLARKE,  of  Ohio,  advocated  collegiate  education,  as  con- 
ferring the  highest  benefits  upon  the  student.  Without  it,  full  intel- 
lectual discipline  is  impossible.  It  is  of  the  highest  value,  even  when 
not  immediately  applicable  to  the  every-day  concerns  of  life. 

Hon,  MARK  H.  DUNNELL,  of  Minnesota,  advocated  the  neces- 
sity and  usefulness  of  high  schools  as  feeders  of  the  colleges.     He 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  37 

thought  them  the  best  thing  that  could  be  had  in  the  newly-settled 
portions  of  the  West,  where  denominational  academies  are  impossi- 
ble. The  classics  should  be  introduced  into  them  as  a  part  of  the 
regular  course  of  studies.  This  arrangement  would  add  greatly  to 
their  value,  and  at  the  same  time  constitute  them  more  largely  the 
supporters  of  our  colleges. 

President  ANDERSON,  of  Rochester  University,  expressed  his 
gratification  at  the  interest  manifested  in  collegiate  education.  He 
regarded  it  as  a  most  favorable  indication,  and  its  general  prevalence 
indicated  that  great  progress  had  been  made  in  this  direction.  He 
had  been  deeply  interested  in  the  discussions  to  which  he  had  lis- 
tened, as  well  as  in  the  papers  read. 

The  PRESIDENT  spoke  briefly  touching  the  progress  of  the  edu- 
cational interests  of  the  Baptists.  They  had  made  such  progress 
that  they  would  not  suffer  in  a  comparison  with  those  of  any  other 
denomination.  The  great  want  is  a  more  liberal  sui)port  of  our 
higher  educational  institutions.  But  we  are  gradually  improving  in 
this  respect,  and  will  continue  to  improve  as  the  question  is  dis- 
cussed and  becomes  better  understood. 

The  President  of  the  Convention  announced  that  he  should  be  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  city,  and  would  therefore  resign  his  position  as 
presiding  officer.  He  expressed  his  gratification  at  the  evidences  of 
interest  in  education  which  this  Convention  afforded,  and  his  thanks 
for  the  courtesy  extended  to  himself. 

His  resignation  was  accepted,  and  the  Hon.  MARK  H.  DUN- 
NELL,  LL.D.,  of  Minnesota,  was  elected  President  in  his  stead. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned,  with  prayer  by  Rev.  E.  E.  L. 
TAYLOR,  D.D.,  of  New  York. 


EVENING   SESSION. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  by  the  President  at  half-past 
seven  o'clock  p.m.  Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  F.  A  DOUGLASS, 
of  Ohio. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  CUTTING  it  was  voted  to  publish  the  minutes 
and  the  papers  read  in  Convention  ;  and  a  committee  consisting  of 
Rev.  D.  H.  COOLEY,  of  Illinois,  Prof.  A.  N.  CURRIER,  of  Iowa, 
and  Rev.  F.  A.  DOUGLASS,  of  Ohio,  was  appointed  to  raise  funds 
for  the  purpose. 


38  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

After  singing  a  hymn,  the  Convention  listened  to  a  paper  by  Rev. 
J.  A.  SMITH,  D.D.,  of  Illinois,  upon 

THE    COLLEGES    AND    UNIVERSITIES    OF    THE    WEST. 

The  subject  assigned  for  this  paper  is,  The  Colleges  and  Universiites  of 
the  West,  their  Present  Character  and  Functions,  vjith  the  Possible  Lines 
of  their  Development  to  meet  the  Advancinsr  Needs  of  Education. 

Of  institutions  bearing  the  name  of  "  College,"  or  "University,"  within 
the  territory  contemplated  here,  and  connected  with  the  Baptist  denomina- 
tion, there  are  eleven,  viz.:  Kalamazoo  College,  at  Kalamazoo,  Mich.; 
Denison  University,  at  Granville,  Ohio;  Franklin  College,  at  Franklin, 
Ind.;  Shurtleff  College,  at  Upper  Alton,  III.;  William  Jewell  College,  at 
Liberty,  Mo, ;  Ottawa  University,  at  Ottawa,  Kansas;  Burlington  College, 
at  Burlington,  Iowa;  DesMoines  University,  at  DesMoines,  Iowa;  Central 
University,  at  Pella,  Iowa;  Wayland  University,  at  Beaver  Dam,  Wis.;  and 
the  University  of  Chicago.  It  is  proper  to  add  that  at  Hastings,  Minn.,  an 
institution  was  founded  by  the  Baptist  State  Convention,  some  years  ago, 
under  the  style  of  a  University.  Unexpected  difficulties  were  met  in  the 
development  of  the  undertaking,  and  it  was  finally  decided  to  defer,  for 
the  present,  the  establishment  of  a  school  of  that  grade  There  is,  however, 
now  a  corporation,  bearing  the  title  of  "  The  Minnesota  Central  University," 
to  which,  upon  the  abandonment  of  the  enterprise  at  Hastings,  the  fund  up 
to  that  time  secured  for  this  purpose,  with  the  attendant  responsibilities,  was 
passed  over.  The  fund  alluded  to  now  amounts  to  some  $6,000  or  $S,oco, 
and  is  to  continue  invested  while  tiie  undertaking  remains  in  suspense,  and 
the  developments  of  the  future  are  awaited.  In  the  meantime,  a  school  of 
the  higher  academical  grade  is  conducted  at  Waseoga,  by  Rev.  L.  B.  Allen, 
D.D.  The  grounds  belonging  to  this  school,  ten  acres  in  extent,  were 
secured  several  years  since  bj  the  Freewill  Baptists,  and  a  commodious  stone 
building  erected  By  the  failure  of  their  plans  the  property  reverted  to  the 
town,  and  the  town  authorities  tendering  it  to  the  Baptists  upon  the  con- 
dition of  maintaining  there  an  Academv,  the  offer  was  accepted.  Under  Dr. 
Allen's  charge  a  prosperous  school  is  in  progress,  with  classical,  literary  and 
scientific  departments.  There  is  also  a  partial  course  in  theology,  for  the 
benefit  of  such  brethren  contemplating  the  ministry  as  are  unable  to  seek  a 
more  extended  one  elsewhere. 

It  should  also  be  mentioned  that  the  Baptist  State  Convention  of  Wiscon- 
sin, in  view  of  the  obstacles  to  a  present  or  speedy  consummation  of  the 
plan  for  building  up  a  university  at  Beaver  Dam,  has  entered  into  an  arrange- 
ment with  the  University  of  Chicago,  by  which  Wayland  University  is  put 
in  connection  with  the  Preparatory  Department  of  that  institution.  Mean- 
while, in  Wisconsin  as  in  Minnesota,  the  enterprise  of  founding  a  school  of 
the  university  or  college  grade,  though  not  abandoned,  remains  in  abeyance, 
awaiting  what  the  future  may  bring. 

Of  those  schools  upon  our  list  which  have  already  reached  the  college 
grade  there  are  six:  Kalamazoo  College,  Denison  University,  Shurtleff 
College,  Franklin  College,  William  Jewell  College,  and  the  University  of 
Chicago.  The  name  "University,"  adopted  by  the  others,  indicates  rather 
what  is  aimed  at,  for  the  future,  than  what  is  claimed  in  the  present.  One 
of  them,  the  Ottawa  University,  in  Kansas,  is  certainly  warranted  by  its 
large  endowments  in  land  in  anticipating  a  time  not  distant,  when  its 
faculty  of  instruction  and  its  course  of  study  may  realize  a  development  well 


EDUCATIONAL    CONVENTION.  39 

toward  the  measure  of  the  original  design.  At  all  of  them  excellent  educa- 
tional work  is  done,  and  both  those  now  in  care  of  them  whether  as  teachers 
or  as  trustees,  as  well  as  those  into  whose  labors  these  have  entered,  should 
be  mentioned  with  all  honor  as  sharing  nobly  in  the  work  of  promoting  the 
intellectual  and  moral  culture  of  the  Great  West. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  in  the  enuineration  made,  three  institutions,  with 
the  title  of  "  University"  or  "  College  "  are  located  in  Iowa.  Of  these,  the 
one  at  DesMoines  is  most  recent  in  date.  It  has  already  had  experience  of 
the  difficulties  of  a  new  enterprise,  yet  as  a  school  enjoys  an  excellent  repu- 
tation. It  receives  both  ladies  and  gentlemen;  numbering,  at  the  present 
time,  fifty-one  in  the  former  department,  thirty-five  in  the  latter;  eighty-six 
in  all.     Its  property  is  valued  at  $45,000. 

Central  University,  at  Pella,  was  opened  in  1854.  Students  in  it  are  con- 
ducted in  classical  study  as  far  as  to  the  Freshman  or  Sophomore  class  in 
college,  and  are  then  advised  to  go  elsewhere  to  complete  their  course,  a 
large  proportion  of  tliem  entering  the  State  University  at  Iowa  City.  There 
is  a  more  extended  scientific  course  for  such  as  desire  it.  This  school  also 
includes  both  ladies  and  gentlemen,  of  whom  an  aggregate  of  twenty-three 
hundred  have  been  in  attendance  from  the  beginning;  the  aggregate  for  the 
current  3'ear  being  one  hundred  and  ninety-four.  The  property,  in  buildings, 
grounds,  library,  etc.,  is  estimated  at  $25,000,  besides  which  a  sum  of  $10,000, 
as  the  beginning  of  an  endowment,  has  recently  been  secured.  Young  men 
study  in  that  school  preparatory  to  the  ministry,  to  the  law,  and  for  the  pro- 
fession of  teachers. 

Burlington  College,  located  at  Burlington,  ma}'  be  classed  among  the 
earlier  educational  undertakings  in  the  West.  The  hope  of  its  founders  has 
always  been  that  it  would  in  due  time  become  in  fact  what  it  is  in  name,  and 
its  course  of  study,  arranged  in  six  schools,  manifestly  provides  for  this.  Its 
property,  in  building  and  grounds  attractive  in  site  and  of  good  dimensions, 
amounts  to  some  $30,000.  It  lias  an  invested  fund  of  $17,000,  bearing  inter- 
est at  from  seven  to  ten  per  cent.,  and  a  library  and  apparatus — the  former 
containing  two  thousand  volumes  —  which  are  valued  at  $4,000.  It  has  thus, 
either  in  real  estate,  in  interest-bearing  funds,  or  in  other  valuable  assets,  a 
property  of  $50,000,  entirely  unincumbered.  The  whole  number  in  attend- 
ance, during  the  year  ending  June  2ist,  has  been  sixty-eight,  of  whom  thirty- 
eight  were  females  and  five  theological  students.  Tlie  range  of  study 
embraces  a  considerable  amount  of  what  is  taught  in  colleges.  In  the  esti- 
mation of  intelligent  friends  of  education  in  Iowa  —  though  others  equally 
entitled  to  respect  hold  different  views  —  it  is  the  preferable  course  to  main- 
tain this  institution  at  Burlington,  as  well  as  those  at  Pella  and  at  DesMoines 
for  the  present,  simply  as  first-class  collegiate  schools,  leaving  the  question 
of  a  fully-endowed  college  and  its  location  to  be  determined  hereafter. 

Those  of  our  institutions  which  at  present  hold  the  college  grade  have 
had  full  experience  of  the  vicissitudes  incident  10  the  history  of  educational 
enterprises  in  a  country  wholly  or  comparative!}'  new.  Franklin  College, 
after  a  considerable  period  of  useful  service,  under  the  presidency,  first  of 
Dr.  Chandler,  afterwards  of  Dr.  Silas  Bailey,  was  for  a  few  years  suspended, 
and  grave  doubts  have  been  felt  by  its  friends  as  to  the  possibility  of  replacing 
it  in  a  career  of  hopeful  progress.  Self-denying  and  enterprising  brethren, 
however,  took  up  the  work  where  financial  difficulties,  variously  caused,  had 
compelled  others  to  lay  it  down  ;  and  now,  under  the  presidency  of  Dr. 
H.  L.  Wayland,  it  is  resuming  its  place  among  the  colleges  of  the  land. 
The  effort  to   raise   a   professorship  endowment  of  $100,000  is    advancing 


40  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

prosperously,  while  a  full  college  faculty  an  J  a  complement  of  college  classes 
will  no  doubt  be  soon  announced.  William  Jewell  College  suffered  heavily 
from  the  late  war,  and  was  indeed  for  a  time  entirely  suspended,  with  Httle 
apparent  prospect  of  recovery  fiom  its  disasters.  Three  years  since  an  effort 
to  revive  it  was  entered  upon,  and  has  been  signally  successful.  The  college 
now  has  property,  in  buildings  and  grounds,  valued  at  $40,000.  and  a  pro- 
fessorship endowment  of  $100,000  Under  the  administration  of  Dr.  Thomas 
Rambaut,  the  President,  with  his  associates  in  a  faculty  of  five  professors 
besides  himself,  it  has  achieved  a  measure  of  public  favor  that  warrants 
the  expectation  of  soon  completing  its  endowment  and  providing  it  with 
all  the  equipments  of  a  first-class  college.  Others,  like  Shurtleff  and  Kala- 
mazoo, while  less  endangered  in  their  existence  by  such  vicissitudes,  have 
had  full  experience  of  the  ordeals  so  occasioned,  although  now,  it  is  believed, 
in  a  position  to  feel  less  seriously  the  effect  of  changes  and  reverses. 

In  speaking  of  the  place  filled  by  our  Western  colleges  among  institutions 
of  this  class  throughout  the  land,  we  would  not  wish  to  claim  more  than  is 
fairly  their  due,  yet,  upon  the  other  hand,  must  not  be  expected  to  under- 
value them.  They  are  a  part  of  our  Western  growth,  and  partake  of  those 
characteristics  which  the  West  as  a  whole  necessarily  bears.  What  they 
have  gained  in  endowments,  in  lands  and  buildings,  in  public  favor,  in  lite- 
rary standing,  they  have  so  gained  as  the  fruit  of  strenuous  exertion.  They 
have  received  from  the  State  simply  the  charters  that  make  them  legal  cor- 
porations. Their  beginnings  have  often  been  small,  and  their  progress  has 
been  in  a  road  beset  with  difficulties.  Vicissitudes  and  reverses  have  been 
inevitable.  Large  subscriptions  have' more  than  once  been  lost  in  conse- 
quence of  general  financial  derangement  putting  it  out  of  the  power  of  those 
making  them  to  fulfill  their  pledges.  A  period  of  lively  hope  has  been  often 
closely  followed  by  a  period  of  discouragement  and  depression,  when  faith, 
patience  and  persistence  have  been  taxed  to  the  utmost.  Debt  and  the  con- 
sequent embarrassment  have  been  found  more  or  less  unavoidable,  while 
the  resources  of  energy  and  hopefulness  in  those  upon  whom  the  care  and 
the  work  devolved  have  been  in  some  instances  well-nigh  consumed  in  con- 
tending with  the  enormous  difficulties  so  caused.  If  any  of  these  college 
enterprises  have  been  premature,  or  in  any  other  way  at  fault  in  their  incep- 
tion, that  was  purely  an  error  of  judgment  under  circumstances  rendering  it 
eminently  excusable,  and  on  the  part  of  men  whose  public  spirit,  and  energy, 
and  self-devotion  might  cover  and  extenuate  far  more  serious  mistakes. 

That,  in  these  circumstances.  Western  colleges  have  succeeded  thus  early 
in  achieving  their  present  measure  of  financial  strength  and  literar}^  power, 
is  certainly  much  to  their  credit.  The  oldest  of  them  has  not  seen  forty 
years  of  history,  while  the  majority  of  them  are  not  yet  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury old.  The  period  within  which  they  have  claimed  full  rank  as  colleges 
is  even  less.  It  is  simply  just  that  they  be  judged  in  the  light  of  all  these 
facts.  At  the  same  time  it  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of  even  these  things  in 
any  way  of  apology.  The  scholarship  of  Western  colleges  may  not  have 
all  the  breadth  of  that  found  in  some  Eastern  ones,  yet  in  the  essentials  of 
a  classical,  scientific  and  literary  training  it  is  believed  to  be  no  less  thorough 
and  complete.  They  have  upon  their  faculties  scholars  and  instructors 
whose  reputation  is  national ;  while,  if  others  have  not  yet  achieved  this 
position,  it  may  be  said  of  them  that  they  are  meriting  it,  both  by  their 
talents,  their  personal  culture,  and  the  fidelity  and  efficiency  with  which  their 
daily  work  is  done.  Western  students,  besides,  in  seeking  the  advantages  of 
a  collegiate  training,  do  so,  for  the  most  part,  with  the  earnest  purpose  char- 


EDUCATIONAL    CONVENTION.  4I 

acteristic  of  the  Western  mind.  A  3'oung  man  here  enters  upon  life,  as  a 
rule,  thoroughly  comprehending  that  he  has  his  career  not  only  to  choose, 
but  to  make.  He  comes  to  the  college,  often,  imperfectly  prepared  for  the 
higher  grades  of  study,  but  with  "a  mind  to  work,"  so  that  the  disadvantage 
of  this  defective  preparation  is  in  most  instances  successfully  surmounted  by 
subsequent  zealous  arM  resolute  application.  Such  opportunities  as  offer, 
in  the  mutual  relations  of  colleges,  to  judge  of  comparative  attainment, 
would  indicate  that  the  Western  student  ranks  fairly  with  the  Eastern  one. 
Young  men  from  our  colleges  going  to  Eastern  colleges  find  no  difficulty  in 
entering  there  with  the  same  grade  as  here,  while  instances  have  occurred  of 
students  failing  to  maintain  standing  in  a  Western  college  and  being  received 
to  an  advanced  standing  in  an  Eastern  one.  Such  facts  are  only  mentioned 
as  showing  that  so  far  as  these  interchanges  represent  the  standard  of  schol- 
arship and  the  measure  of  attainment  in  Eastern  and  Western  colleges, 
respectively,  the  practical  result  is  at  least  not  to  our  discredit;  and  as  show- 
ing, also,  that  in  the  essentials  of  a  collegiate  course  the  Western  college  — 
young,  and  in  some  respects  immature,  as  it  may  be — may  justly,  in  com- 
parison with  the  Eastern  one,  assert  its  right  to  the  honorable  designation  it 
bears. 

Such  defects  as  appear  in  the  courses  of  stud}-  so  far  adopted  in  the  col- 
leges of  the  West  are  chietly  due,  it  would  seem,  to  two  causes  :  the  necessity 
of  having  respect  in  them  to  the  imperfect  preparation  of  the  student  upon 
entering,  and  deficient  provision  of  instruction  occasioned  by  deficiency  of 
endowments.  The  preparatory  departments  connected  with  the  several  col- 
leges enable  them  to  control  the  first  of  these  conditions  in  some  degree,  and 
this,  with  the  perfecting  of  our  academical  system,  generally,  will  no  doubt 
in  time  so  far  surmount  the  difficulty  as  to  bring  the  student  to  his  college 
course  with  a  measure  of  scholarship  preparing  him  to  encounter  on  more 
equal  terms  the  ordeals  of  advanced  study.  It  needs  no  argument  in  detail 
to  show  how  much  more  breadth,  variety,  and  completeness  a  scholar's  work 
may  have,  where  he  enters  upon  it  with  a  mastery  of  first  principles  such  as 
both  warrants  and  facilitates  scholarly  enterprise.  A  more  ample  provision 
of  instructors,  however,  would  even  then  be  necessary :  such  as  that  the  sev- 
eral professors,  no  longer  overworked  as  they  now  are  in  class-drill,  may 
have  both  leisure  and  strength  for  that  more  discursive  and  suggestive 
method  of  teaching  which  the  lecture  supplies;  such  also  as  may  render 
practicable  opportunities  for  special  study  when  such  are  desired.  To  this 
more  ample  endowments  are  plainly  indispensable. 

It  is  simply  claimed  for  our  Western  collegiate  course  as  it  now  stands  that 
it  embraces,  in  the  classics,  in  modern  languages,  in  mathematics,  pure  and 
applied,  in  science,  in  philosophy  and  in  letters,  what  in  any  American  col- 
lege is  considered  in  the  strict  sense  essential.  In  arranging  it,  the  American 
system  is  adopted,  with  modifications  in  certain  particulars.  Thus  the  sep- 
arate scientific  course  is  more  common  in  Western  colleges  than  in  Eastern 
ones,  especially  those  of  the  same  grade.  Hence,  the  eclectic  principle  is 
probably  with  us  allowed  freer  scope.  William  Jewell  College  divides  its 
course  of  study  into  schools,  such  as  the  School  of  Greek,  the  School  of 
Latin,  the  School  of  Mathematics,  the  School  of  Natural  Sciences,  the  School 
of  English  and  History,  the  School  of  Theology,  and  others.  Students  are 
received  in  these  several  schools  "  upon  probation,"  and  only  matriculated 
as  members  of  the  college  after  fair  trial  of  their  scholarship.  They  may 
graduate  from  one  or  more  of  the  schools  after  due  examination.  Each 
school,  for  the  completion  of  its  assigned  course,  seems  to  require   three 


42 


WESTERN    BAPTIST 


years  of  study,  styled,  the  Junior,  the  Intermediate,  and  the  Senior  For 
students  who  need  more  elementary  instruction  in  any  one  of  them,  there  is 
also  a  Sub-Junior  Class.  The  courses  adopted  in  our  other  colleges  vary 
from  the  customary  one  only  in  certain  special  features.  Thus,  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  and  in  Franklin  College  a  different  order  from  the  usual 
one  is  preferred  in  the  studies  belonging  to  the  depaftment  of  l-'hilosophy. 
Metaphysics  is  assigned  for  the  Junior  year.  Logic  and  Moral  Philosophy  for 
the  Senior;  the  reason  being  that  an  acquaintance  with  the  principles  of 
Metaphysics  seems  essential  to  the  most  successful  prosecution  of  studies, 
like  Logic  and  Moral  Philosophy,  into  which  they  so  largely  enter.  In  the 
Western  college  classical  study  is  made  to  occupy  its  long-established  place 
in  the  American  as  well  as  the  European  curriculum.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
such  will  continue  to  be  the  fact,  and  that  one  feature  of  that  development 
and  enlargement  which  is  expected  as  resources  increase,  will  be  a  measure 
of  culture  in  this  department  commensurate  with  that  afforded  in  each  other 
one.  E\en  should  our  Western  scholarship,  in  accordance  with  tendencies 
of  the  Western  mode  of  thought,  come  to  rate  ever  so  highly  the  practical  and 
the  available,  it  will  not,  it  is  believed,  any  the  less  value  what  is  so  essential 
in  a  generous  culture  while  it  opens  doors  to  ranges  of  literature  so  rich  and 
wide. 

Leaving  now,  however,  these  details,  the  object  of  which  has  been  to  afford 
something  like  an  adequate  view  of  the  character  and  condition  of  Western 
Baptist  colleges,  the  remainder  of  this  paper  will  be  devoted  to  the  considera- 
tion of  two  or  three  general  questions  having  reference  more  to  what  may  be 
anticipated  in  the  future  of  these  institutions. 

I.  First  of  all,  it  is  believed  to  be  a  condition  funtlamental  to  that  larger 
development  for  which  we  hope,  and  that  better  adjustment  of  our  whole 
denominational  system  of  higher  education  in  the  West,  that  our  brethren 
generally  shall  come  to  rate  more  adequately  the  functions  of  the  college,  and 
the  collegiate  course  of  study,  considered  simply  in  itself. 

It  was  unquestionably  an  admirable  thing  in  those  who  were  early  upon 
the  ground  in  these  newer  States,  that  they  saw  so  clearly,  and  felt  so  pro- 
foundly, the  great  claim  of  the  opening  field  around  them,  as  a  field  to  be 
cultivated  in  the  interests  of  truth ;  and  that  they  were  so  prompt  and  so 
much  in  earnest  in  asking,  "Whence  are  to  come  the  sowers  and  the  reapers 
in  the  vast  spiritual  husbandry  of  the  West.'"  It  was  natural,  and  it  was 
right,  for  them  to  feel  that  among  the  earliest  and  most  urgent  wants  of  this 
region  would  be  the  school  for  the  education  of  ministers.  Pressed  by  that 
conviction,  they  began  to  make  provision  to  this  end  as  almost  the  first  pur- 
pose of  denominational  enterprise  and  union.  Hence  it  has  resulted  that  in 
founding  colleges,  or  institutions  out  of  which  it  was  proposed  to  make  col- 
leges, in  time,  the  main  thought  has  been,  "  It  is  for  the  education  of  our 
Western  Baptist  ministry."  Brethren  charged  with  the  practical  care  and 
work  of  such  enterprises,  have  felt  this  so  strongly  in  themselves,  and  have 
seen  its  influence  so  much  among  the  churches,  that  naturally,  and  quite 
properly,  they  have  put  it  forward  as  the  grand  plea  in  behalf  of  such  inter- 
ests. Entirely  becoming  as  this  was,  it  is  a  question  whether  there  has  not 
resulted  from  it  a  predisposition,  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  best  friends  of 
our  colleges  and  universities,  to  value  them  almost  solely  in  proportion  as 
they  are  schools  for  educating  ministers.  Surely  the  time  has  now  cotne,  at 
least,  when, we  may,  in  our  sympathies  and  plans,  embrace  other  interests 
with  this,  and  may  remind  ourselves  of  what  a  good  college  essentially  is, 
apart  from  any  one  of  its  more  especial  designs. 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  ^3 

It  is  a  very  important  and  hopeful  feature  of  the  American  collegiate  s_ys-  1 
tern  that  it  is  to  such  an  extent  framed  and  directed  by  religious  men,  and 
controlled  hy  the  various  religious  denominations.  All  experience  shows 
that  education  purely  secular  tends  to  skepticism  and  ungodliness,  while 
nothing  is  more  needed,  even  in  the  highest  ranges  of  study  and  inquiry, 
than  that  reverence  for  revealed  truth  which  may  save  men  from  the  mis- 
leading tendencies  of  intellectual  vanity.  To  separate  learning  from  religion 
is  to  make  it  the  plaything  of  human  caprice,  or  the  instrument  of  human 
irreligiousness ;  while  science  itself,  though  ever  so  wide  in  its  research  and 
rich  in  its  results,  is  left  at  the  mercy  of  mere  speculation  until  it  may 
scarcely  have  enough  of  either  clear  discernment  or  steady  faith  to  know 
even  the  man  from  the  brute.  Besides,  it  is  plainly  right  that  all  of  human 
culture,  as  all  of  human  achievement  in  otlier  respects,  religion  shall  conse- 
crate. The  Christian  people  of  a  country  like  ours,  should  not  suppose  that 
their  work,  as  such,  begins  and  ends  with  the  establishment  of  churches  and 
the  provision  of  a  ministry.  They  are  in  circumstances  to  influence  in  favor 
of  what  is  true,  and  pure,  and  honoring  to  God,  the  whole  national  develop- 
ment; and  in  no  respect  more  than  in  that  of  the  national  culture.  Here  the 
college  finds  its  sphere.  Planted  by  a  denomination  of  Christian  people,  its 
chairs  filled  by  men  who  love  Christian  truth  and  know  how  discreetly  to 
mingle  its  inculcation  with  that  of  true  knowledge  in  other  things,  embracing 
in  its  course  of  study  the  Christian  evidences  and  the  moral  principles  fun- 
damental to  all  right  faith  and  right  life,  honoring  God  in  daily  worship  and 
daily  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  while  the  Christian  example  and  testimony 
of  pious  'eachers  and  pious  students  appeal  unanswerably  to  conviction  and 
to  everj' best  feeling, —  such  an  institution,  above  and  beyond  all  that  it  is 
in  an  intellectual  point  of  view,  is  a  power  for  good,  religiously,  whose  effect 
enters  into  the  hearts  and  lives  of  those  who  make  our  national  history, 
moulds  those  whose  work  it  will  ever  after  be  to  mould  others,  and  perpetu- 
ates itself,  and  widens,  with  the  generations  and  the  ages. 

Then  it  is  a  privilege  by  no  means  to  be  undervalued,  that  of  sharing  in 
the  work  of  higher  education.  Baptists,  apart  from  what  is  due  to  tliem- 
selves  as  a  religious  denomination,  and  apart  from  all  consideration  of 
the  value  to  them  as  a  people  of  the  sympathy  and  good  will  of  such, 
educated  in  their  schools,  as  may  ever  after  retain  a  sense  of  personal 
indebtedness  and  a  consequent  kindly  interest,  though  unconnected  with 
them  denominationally  —  apart  from  all  that.  Baptists  should  rate  highly 
the  opportunity  they  have,  and  the  power  they  have,  to  bear  their  part  fully 
in  the  general  service  of  national  cu'ture.  Our  colleges  should  be  valued 
just  in  that  view  of  their  functions.  They  should  be  made  as  ample  in  their 
resources  as  possible,  as  complete  in  all  their  equipments,  as  efficient  in 
every  element  of  literary  power,  in  order  that  we  may  take  our  place 
squarely  beside  the  best  and  foremost  in  this  work,  and  may  be  able,  not 
with  pride,  but  with  just  self-appreciation  to  declare  that  we  are  "  not  a  whit 
behind  the  very  chiefest."  To  this  it  is  plainly  essential  that  our  generous 
brethren  adequately  appreciate  the  function  of  the  college  in  this  point  of 
view,  and  realize  how  worthy  an  object  it  is  for  their  most  liberal  donations, 
to  thus  render  our  denominational  college  system,  simply  as  such,  equal  to    , 

the  best  in  the  land.  

The  practical  bearing  of  this  view,  in  one  respect,  may  be  seen  if  we 
notice  a  class  of  facts  connected  with  national  legislation.  Some  writer 
has  been  at  the  pains  to  ascertain  how  many  members  of  the  present  Con- 
gress are  college  graduates,  and  where  they  were  educated.     He  finds  that 


44  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

"of  265  members,  99  have  had  an  education  in  institutions  known  as  col- 
leges and  universities,  71  are  recorded  as  educated  in  academies,  and  the 
remaining  95  as  educated  at  home  or  in  the  public  schools.  The  ninety-nine 
college  graduates  were  educated  in  fifty-tive  different  colleges  in  this  country 
and  one  in  Europe.  No  college  sends  more  than  Yale,  which  numbers  six. 
Next  comes  Western  Reserve  college  and  Brown  University,  with  five  each, 
and  these  are  followed  by  Princeton  and  Union  with  four  each."  Harvard 
College  has  only  three.  This  writer  calls  special  attention  to  the  fact  that 
a  Western  college  ranks  next  to  Yale  in  the  number  it  sends  to  the  present 
Congress.  Of  the  whole  number,  99,  of  college  graduates  now  in  Congress, 
he  notes  the  fact  that  only  twenty  are  from  New  England,  and  adds  :  "  The 
nation's  destiny  has  already  passed  to  new  hands,  and  the  influence  of  our 
old  colleges  and  universities,  as  well  as  of  Eastern  usages  and  habits  of 
thought,  has  relatively  declined.  Western  Reserve  College,  with  its  five 
graduates  in  Congress,  takes  precedence  of  the  oldest  college  in  New  Eng- 
land, which  has  but  three!"  *  *  "The  nation's  destiny,"  he  says, 
"  in  the  hands  of  its  representatives  is  to  be  determined  by  the  character  of 
the  population  that  is  so  rapidly  filling  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Whether 
they  shall  have  educated  men  to  represent  it  in  Congress,  and  whether  these 
educated  men  shall  be  trained  under  Christian  influence,  is  one  of  the  moFt 
important  questions  which  it  falls  to  the  living  generation  to  determine." 
This  testimo  ly  of  an  intelligent  Eastern  man  may  be  emphatically  com- 
mended to  the  consideration  of  the  men  of  the  West. 

2.  Another  point  proposed  for  consideration  here  relates  to  the  multipli- 
cation of  colleges. 

The  territorial  lines  fixed  in  the  political  organization  of  this  country 
very  naturally,  and  to  a  certain  extent  properly,  influence  organization  in 
other  respects.  It  is  found  both  convenient  and  serviceable  to  arrange 
missionary  work,  and  other  joint  enterprises  in  accordance  with  outlines 
thus  ready-made  and  suggestive.  It  is  clearly  possible,  however,  for  these 
territorial  lines  to  create  distinctions  where  there  is  really  no  difference,  and 
to  interfere  with  that  sort  of  union  for  which  such  lines  should  have  no 
existence  whatever.  There  can  be  no  good  reason,  for  example,  why  the 
interest  of  higher  education,  even  as  represented  in  particular  institutions, 
should  not  be  an  interest  common  to  all  the  States;  no  good  reason  why  it 
should  be  thought  a  disparagement  to  one  State  that  its  young  men  receive 
such  education  in  some  other  State;  no  good  reason  why  to  give  money  for 
the  endowment  of  colleges  in  another  State  than  one's  own  should  be  viewed 
as  giving  support  to  something  foreign  or  competitory ;  no  good  reason  why 
interests  which  are  comparatively  local  should  be  crippled  by  premature 
attempts  to  localize  this  one  which  is  in  such  a  large  sense  cominon  to  all. 
These  points,  it  is  believed  safe  to  assume  in  this  argument;  and  there  will 
then  remain  simply  the  question  what  principle  ought  to  govern  in  the 
founding  of  new  institutions  of  the  higher  grade,  and  to  decide,  in  general, 
as  to  the  number  and  location  of  Baptist  colleges  in  the  West. 

It  is  respectfully  submitted  whether  such  a  principle  may  not  be  stated 
thus:  That  colleges  should  noru  and  hereafter  be  created  with  a  view  to 
meet,  not  anticipated,  but  actual  needs  of  the  denomination  ;  and  so  far  as 
present  resources  may  warrant,  not  with  a  lien  upon  resources  of  the 
future. 

A  time  comes,  in  the  development  of  any  new  country,  when  such  a  prac- 
tical rule  as  this  becomes  sound  and  safe.  Upon  foundations  early  laid, 
structures  have  risen  adequate  to  meet  existing  needs,  and  that   necessity 


mm 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  45 

once  so  stringent  of  anticipating  both  wants  and  resources  ceases  to  be  felt. 
It  is  a  fair  question  whether  that  time  has  not  now  come  for  us  in  the  West. 
If  an  exception  be  allowed,  it  must  be  in  behalf  of  that  farther  West  for 
which  the  Ottawa  University  in  Kansas  seems  intended  to  provide.  Even  as 
respects  those  remoter  districts  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  existing  pressure 
is  not  so  urgent  as  to  make  it  imperative  upon  us  to  embarrass  other  work 
in  order  to  push  this  one  to  a  speedier  result.  With  existing  facilities  of 
travel,  the  Western  student,  though  his  home  should  be  in  the  very  shadow 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  may  make  his  choice  among  half-a-dozen  colleges, 
more  or  less  accessible  to  him.  Without  doubt,  the  movement  to  secure  a 
basis  of  ultimate  large  endowment,  such  as  we  now  have  at  Ottawa,  was 
wise;  but  it  is  believed  that  without  serious  detriment  even  that  institution 
may,  for  its  more  complete  organization,  await  the  sure  and  steady  growth 
of  the  noble  State  in  the  heart  of  which  it  is  planted ;  and  its  friends  not 
fear  that  they  are  losing  valuable  time  if  the  work  of  endowment  proves  to 
be  slower  than  they  had  hoped. 

There  are  strong  reasons  to  be  urged  for  each  of  the  opposite  views  held 
upon  the  subject  of  the  multiplication  of  colleges  — a  subject  of  such  great 
practical  interest  to  us  in  the  West.  Upon  the  one  hand,  it  is  not  to  be 
denied  that  even  a  very  few  fully-endowed  and  efficient  colleges  accomplish 
a  better  present  work  than  many  such,  all  poor,  all  embarrassed,  and  each 
necessarily  crippled  in  its  work  by  its  poverty  in  educational  means  If  the 
question  were  now  a  new  one,  and  if  we  had  at  this  moment  to  decide  how 
many  colleges  our  denomination  in  the  West  shall  undertake  to  found  and 
sustain,  those  who  would  severely  limit  the  number  might  have  arguments 
to  urge  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  answer.  But,  upon  the  other  hand,  the 
question  is  not  a  new  one.  To  a  certain  extent  it  must  be  conceded  that  the 
point  as  to  the  number  of  our  colleges  is  one  already  settled.  Each  of  those 
whose  names  have  been  given  as  having  reached  the  college  grade  has  made 
for  itself  a  position,  a  history,  a  hold  upon  public  confidence  and  denomina- 
tional sympathy  such  as  that  probably  no  one  amongst  us  would  go  so  far  as 
to  say  that  either  should  be  denied  the  right  to  live.  Then,  it  must  be  con- 
ceded that  colleges,  while  they  subserve  various  other  denominational  and 
general  interests,  supply  stimulus,  also,  to  educational  zeal,  and  while  prose- 
cuting their  assigned  and  expected  work  educate  the  denomination  itself  to 
a  higher  view  and  purpose  in  this  regard.  Some,  impressed  by  these  and 
other  considerations,  would  say  that  schools  of  this  class  ought  to  be 
increased  to  that  extent,  at  least,  that  each  State  may  have  its  own  college. 
The  correctness  of  this  view  may  be  admitted,  if  we  look  simply  to  the  remote 
future,  and  speak  of  the  time  when  all  these  Western  States  shall  be  full  of 
people  and  full  of  wealth,  and  when  to  endow  a  college  shall  no  longer  be, 
as  it  is  now,  the  work  of  a  generation.  Speaking  with  reference  to  things 
as  they  are,  the  suggestion  is  ventured  whether  what  we  have  already  begun 
should  not,  at  least,  be  put  in  a  position  of  safety  from  financial  shipwreck 
before  more  is  attempted.  Besides,  time  may  thus  be  aff'orded  for  the  quiet 
adjustment,  through  the  logic  of  events,  of  local  questions  which  may  now 
be  difficult  to  manage.  If  the  friends  of  institutions  whose  plan,  as  yet 
unconsummated,  contemplates  a  college  or  university  organization,  will  con- 
sent for  the  time  to  aim  simply  at -what  is  now  practicable,  and  leave  all 
questions  of  a  State  college  or  its  location  to  the  future,  availing  themselves 
for  the  purposes  of  higher  education  of  the  colleges  we  already  have,  much 
may  be  gained  in  point  of  denominational  union,  simplicity  of  plan,  and 
means  to  complete  present  beginnings.     For  the  present,  the  idea  of  a  col- 


46  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

lege  for  every  State  in  the  West  is  not  even  a  practical  one.  The  brethren  in 
Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  are,  it  is  believed,  wise  in  allowing  this  question 
to  remain  simply  in  its  theoretical  shape,  and  consentin<j  to  wait  until 
resources  shall  be  larger  and  the  need  more  pressing  before  attempting  what 
is  so  apt  to  prove  simply  an  embarrassment  and  a  cause  of  division. 

If  the  view  thus  taken  is  just,  the  conclusion  would  seem  to  be,  that  while 
the  colleges  we  now  actually  have  should  be  fostered,  and  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible put  in  a  condition  of  the  highest  efficiency,  other  enterprises  of  this 
kind  may  most  wisely  be  held  in  abeyance  till  our  denominational  means 
become  more  abundant,  and  our  denominational  want,  in  that  respect,  more 
urgent  An  important  additional  suggestion  seems  to  be  afforded  by  the 
character  and  position  of  those  other  institutions  in  our  list  which  have  the 
college  or  university  name,  although  not  properly  occupying  that  grade. 
These,  if  less  than  colleges,  are  more  than  academies.  Perhaps  an  appro- 
priate designation  for  them  may  be  that  of  collegiate  schools.  They  not 
only  conduct  students  into  the  first  years  of  a  college  course,  but  they  furnish 
instruction  in  theology,  with  the  help  of  which  some  of  our  most  efficient 
ministers  in  the  West  have  prepared  for  their  work.  The  place  they  fill, 
just  as  Ihey  are,  is  evidently  an  important  one.  Some  of  them  must  ulti- 
mately become  colleges  in  fact.  Meanwhile,  if  under  the  direction  of  such 
men  as  now  conduct  them,  they  may  furnish  a  measure  of  educational  train- 
ing much  to  be  valued,  even  if  the  circumstances  of  the  student  forbid  its 
further  prosecution,  and  render  a  most  valuable  service  in  the  distinct  prov- 
ince of  ministerial  education.  They  should,  it  is  believed,  as  collegiate 
schools,  be  regarded  as  filling  a  place  in  our  Western  educational  system 
peculiar  and  important. 

3.  One  other  special  point  demands  attention:  the  place  of  the  University 
in  the  collegiate  system  of  our  denomination  for  the  West. 
/■^  What  the  American  university  is  ultimately  to  become,  is  a  question  as 
yet  far  from  settled;  although  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  in  certain  influ- 
ential quarters  it  is  beginning  to  receive  the  consideration  it  merits.  We 
may,  however,  anticipate  the  result  of  such  inquiry,  so  far  as  to  say  that  the 
university  method  adopted  in  this  country  will  doubtless  be  shaped  in  a 
large  degree  by  the  form  of  our  school  system  in  general,  and  by  our  national 
needs  and  characteristics.;  It  is  not  likely,  judging  from  present  appearances, 
that  we  shall  ever  have  universities,  for  example,  made  up  of  a  group  of  col- 
leges, like  those  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  in  England  ;  the  vast  extent  of  our 
territory  requiring  that  colleges  shall  be  distributed,  rather  than  concen- 
trated. Nor  is  it  likely  that  our  university  organization  will  ever,  as  in 
France,  come  to  embrace  the  entire  educational  system,  from  the  lowest 
schools  up  to  the  highest;  the  tendency  with  us  being  more  in  the  direction 
of  independent  organization,  with  simply  general  mutual  relations.  Nor,  as 
in  Scotland,  will  it  probably  ever  be  true  that,  as  a  competent  authority  there 
has  said,  the  university  "  is  not  an  university  only,  but  a  high  school,  to 
supply  the  deficiency  of  other  schools;"  it  being  presumable  that  our  '"other 
schools"  will  not  have  deficiencies  such  as  to  demand  a  remedy  so  elaborate, 
but  that  the  university  will  be  needed,  rather,  to  take  up  their  work  where 
they  lay  it  down,  and  carry  it  on  to  completion.  Neither  is  it  likely  that  the 
German  or  the  Italian  system  will  be. strictly  reproduced  in  the  American 
one.  It  must  be  a  long  time,  indeed,  before  an  American  vmiversity  can, 
like  that  of  Heidelberg,  in  Germany,  support  sixty  learned  professors,  each 
devoting  himself  to  his  own  especial  branch  of  knowledge;  befoi^e,  as  in  the 
German  universities  as  a  class,  the  number  of  students  seeking  such  advanced 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  47 

instruction  will  either  justify  or  sustain  lecturers  so  numerous,  and  each  so 
occupied  with  his  own  specialty,  as  that  there  shall  remain  scarcely  a  hand- 
breadth  of  unexplored  ground  in  all  the  world  of  learning 

While,  besides,  as  is  evident  even  from  what  has  now  been  said,  the  Euro- 
pean universities  do  themselves  so  entirely  fail  to  build  after  anyone  model, 
they  can  not  fairly  criticise  our  American  one  if  it,  also,  adopts  a  model  of  its 
own  and  becomes  what  the  country  and  the  age  require  that  it  shall  be.  At  the 
same  time,  we  shall  be  fairly  open  to  criticism  if  we  do  not  at  least  seek  to 
realize  that  one  university  ideal,  which,  originating  with  the  universities  of 
Bologna  and  Paris,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  may  be  traced  in  Europe  under  all 
these  diversities  of  form.  This  ideal  evidently  is,  that  a  university  shall  not 
only  be  the  flower  and  perfection  of  all  the  schools,  but  that  it  shall  both 
attempt  and  accomplish  what  all  the  other  schools  combined  necessarily'  fail 
in;  and  that  is,  a  comprehension  within  its  scheme  of  instruction,  so  far  as 
possible,  of  the  whole  range  of  human  learning,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the 
prosecution  of  inquiry  in  new  directions,  or  of  more  thorough  inquiry  in  old 
directions,  and  thus,  at  the  same  time,  scrutinizing  the  known,  and  pushing 
on  farther  and  farther  into  the  regions  of  the  knowable.  It  is  plain,  then, 
that  our  American  university  must  be  more  than  a  college;  more  even  than 
a  college  with  its  cluster  of  professional  schools.  It  must  be  a  place  where 
learning  will  be  sought  for  learning's  own  sake,  and  where  shall  be  trained, 
not  only  American  ministers,  lawyers,  doctors,  engineers,  agriculturists, 
but  American  scholars. 

It  seems  at  present  most  likely  that  the  nucleus  of  the  American  univer- 
sity, wherever  established,  will  be  a  college;  such  appears  to  be  the  tendency 
now,  and  to  it  there  can  be  no  objection.  The  university  scheme,  too,  will 
probably  embrace  a  system  of  professional  schools  We  shall,  it  may  be  pre- 
sumed, so  far  disregard  the  dictum  of  Mr.  John  Stuart  Mill,  as  to  hold,  in 
harmony  with  the  practical  character  of  the  American  genius,  that  the  univer- 
sity ts,  for  one  of  its  functions  at  least,  "  a  place  of  professional  educa- 
tion." ,  But  this  must  not  be  all.  Though  its  scheme  in  this  respect  should 
include  all  the  professions,  this  alone  will  not  make  it  a  university.  It  must 
also  put  to  practical  use  that  distinction  which  an  able  English  writer.  Pro- 
fessor Seeley,  makes  between  educatio7t  and  learning ;  must  be  a  place  where 
men  shall  not  only  be  taught,  but  where  they  shall  teach  themselves^  and, 
with  the  aid  of  the  provision  there  furnished,  go  on  beyond  what  the  prac- 
tical detail  of  any  profession  calls  for,  and  ascend  to  the  heights  that  are 
highest.  Besides,  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  for  American  scholars  there  may 
be  departments  of  inquiry,  either  for  the  development  of  new  truth,  or  the 
more  accurate  re-stating  of  old  truth,  specially  reserved.  What  Germany 
does  in  Philology,  France  in  Mathematics,  England  in  Literature,  Scotland 
and  Germany,  to  some  extent,  in  Philosophy,  it  may  fall  to  America  to  do  in 
some  related  sphere;  perhaps  in  a  clearer  and  safer  expounding  of  philoso- 
phy itself;  perhaps  in  departments  of  applied  science;  perhaps  in  that 
supremely  important  matter,  the  relation  of  science  to  religion.  Has  not 
this  youngest  and  most  vigorous  of  the  nations  a  mission  here?  And  is  it 
not  time  for  American  scholars,  and  American  friends  of  education,  to 
realize  that  there  is  something  more  and  greater  in  learning  than  education 
simply.'' 

It  may  be  that  in  the  West  a  complete  universit}'  will  not  be  witnessed  by 
the  generation  now  living  The  question,  however,  which  is  here  submitted, 
is,  whether,  in  what  we  plan  in  this  respect,  we  should  not  aim  at  that  which 
ought  to  be,  and  which,  according  to  all  that  we  can  now  see,  must  be.'    Is 


48  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

it  not  competent  for  us  to  say,  and  is  it  not  our  duty  to  say,  that  we  will 
mean  bv  a  university  a  university ;  something  more  than  a  college;  more 
than  a  college  with  two  or  three  professional  schools  attached?  Ought  we 
not  to  adjust  our  other  institutions  to  this  ideal,  and  say  that  our  colleges 
shall  be  simply  colleges,  our  collegiate  schools  shall  be  collegiate  schools 
only,  till  they  can  be  more;  our  academies  academies,  and  that  we  will  mean 
by  a  university  strictly  what  the  name  imports?  We,  now  living,  may  not 
see  the  ideal  fully  accomplished,  but  we  shall  have  the  satisfaction  of  work- 
ing toward  it,  and  those  who  come  after  us  will  not  have  occasion  to  say  that 
our  work  has  embarrassed  theirs. 

If  so  much  as  has  now  been  said  is  accepted,  it  will  follow  that,  for  a  long 
time  to  come,  the  denomination  in  the  West  will  need  to  concentrate  its 
interest  and  means  to  this  end  at  some  one  point.  If  we  are  to  have  a  univer- 
sity indeed,  we  can,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  have  but  one.  There  must 
be,  in  buildings,  in  endowments,  in  libraries,  in  facilities  of  instruction,  a 
provision  which  can  be  made  adequate  only  as  a  result  of  concentration,  and 
steady,  patient,  generous,  wide-minded  combination.  As  an  incentive  to  this, 
it  may  be  remembered  that  an  institution  such  as  we  suppose,  maintaining 
suitable  relations  to  other  institutions,  would  be  a  helper  to  all.  It  would 
aid  them  in  elevating  their  standard  of  scholarship,  supply  stimulus  both  to 
their  teachers  and  their  students,  be  a  center  of  intellectual  power  and  interest 
for  all  alike,  and,  in  gathering  treasures  of  learning,  constitute  a  source  of 
supply  ever  more  and  more  valuable.  There  is,  in  the  mere  hope  of  a  con- 
federacy in  learning  thus  friendly  and  helpful,  a  prospect  so  noble  that  it 
might  sufficiently  reward  us  who  are  now  living,  to  have  simply  been  per- 
mitted to  lay  its  corner-stone.  Surely,  since  the  West  is  beginning  to  lead 
in  so  many  things,  it  may  aspire  to  leadership  also  in  this;  and  since,  as 
Baptists,  we  so  much  have  our  educational  mission  still  to  fulfill,  why  may 
we  not  begin  at  this  point  to  plan  with  a  larger  hope  and  a  higher  aim? 

A  point  suggests  itself  here  which,  although  not  belonging  strictly  to  the 
subject  of  this  paper,  is  still  in  such  an  important  relation  with  it  that  it 
should  be  at  least  touched  in  a  few  words.  One  university  for  the  West 
implies  one  theological  school,  properly  so  called.  For  the  systematic 
course  in  divinity  plainly  belongs  with  those  other  professional  courses 
which  are  here  supposed  to  be  embraced  in  the  scheme  of  the  one  university. 
The  question  will  then,  no  doubt,  occur  to  some,  Will  not,  under  such  an 
arrangement,  the  aims  and  hopes  of  the  founders  of  our  colleges  in  this 
regard  be  disappointed,  and  what  they  had  provided  for  the  instruction  of 
the  Western  Baptist  ministry  be  turned  exclusively  to  the  interest  of  secular 
education?  In  answer  to  this,  it  may  be  said  that  the  college  itself,  with 
reference  to  its  college  course  purely  is  a  school  for  ministerial  education ; 
that  course  being  so  material  a  preparation  for  the  theological  one,  as  that 
the  latter  without  the  former  comparatively  fails  of  its  end.  But  then,  fur- 
ther, it  is  submitted  to  the  Boards  of  those  colleges  where  this  matter  is  felt 
to  be  of  vital  importance,  whether  a  most  important  service  in  the  distinct 
work  of  theological  instruction  —  and  all  which  can  really  be  attempted 
without  overburdening  the  resources  of  the  college  —  may  not  be  secured 
in  the  endowment  of  a  theological  professorship  as  a  part  of  the  regular 
college  course.  Such  a  course,  with  such  an  amount  of  studj'  in  various 
branches  of  theological  study  as  should  be  included,  and  pursued  from 
beginning  to  end  with  the  understanding  that  it  is  the  student's  preparation 
for  ministerial  work,  might  send  him  forth  fairly  endowed  for  that  work, 
while  for  many  brethren  it  would  be  a  measure  and  kind  of  preparation 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  49 

better  suited  to  their  circumstances  than  a  more  elaborate  one.  If  it  should 
be  said  that  in  one  Western  college  this  plan,  upon  trial,  has  been  thought 
not  consistent  with  the  maintenance  of  a  desirably  high  standard  in  the 
strictly  college  course,  it  may  be  also  said,  in  reply,  that  in  another  it  is  now 
being  prosecuted  successfully.  Should  this  expedient  be  found  acceptable 
and  practicable,  it  will  take  away  one  ground  of  difference  in  the  views  and 
plans  of  our  educators  in  the  West,  and  enable  us  to  secure  a  desirable  con- 
centration of  interest  and  means  in  the  promotion  of  theological  learning 
in  its  stricter  and  larger  sense. 

/^he  result  of  all  that  has  been  said,  then,  seems  to  be  this :  that  we  nave 
in  our  Western  Baptist  colleges  institutions  fairly  entitled  to  the  name  they 
bear,  and  which,  in  their  present  condition  and  literary  standing  invite  not 
only  the  confidence  of  the  denomination,  but  an  energetic  and  generous 
co-operation  in  the  work  of  completing  their  endowments  and  putting  them 
every  way  in  a  condition  of  the  highest  efficiency;  that  in  the  schools 
founded  with  the  design  of  making  them  colleges  in  due  time,  but  not  as 
yet  arrived  at  that  stage,  we  have  a  class  of  institutions,  excellently  adapted 
to  the  special  service  they  now  render,  and  justified  in  anticipating  a  devel- 
opment, in  due  time,  most  of  them  at  least,  to  the  rank  of  colleges  in  fact; 
that,  however,  it  is  better  for  these  schools,  filling  as  they  do  a  place  inter- 
mediate between  the  college  and  the  academy,  to  remain  as  they  are,  even 
for  an  indefinite  period,  than  by  any  forced  effort  to  elevate  them,  or  any  one 
of  them,  at  once  to  the  college  grade,  to  increase  the  number  of  partially 
endowed  colleges,  and  embarrass  and  hinder  the  general  interest  of  higher 
education  ;/that  it  is  now  time  for  us  to  distinguish  strictly  between  the 
university  and  the  college,  and  that  while  accepting  the  theory  that  colleges 
must  be  multiplied  as  fast,  though  emphatically  no  faster  than  the  demand 
requires,  and  the  resources  warrant,  the  very  nature  of  the  university  organi- 
zation requires  that  we  shall  have  but  one,  so  located  as  in  the  speediest 
and  best  way  to  be  built  up  in  the  true  proportions  of  a  university,  and 
embracing  within  its  scheme  along  with  other  professional  courses  our  <)«e 
theological  school;  that  at  the  same  time  the  college  course  is  susceptible 
of  modification  so  as  that  the  college  also  shall  be  for  such  as  so  desire  a 
school  of  ministerial  preparation,  and  thus  our  plan  for  such  education, 
while  it  shall  have  more  concentration  in  one  direction,  be  made  to  have, 
at  the  same  time,  more  scope  and  variety  in  another,   j 

These  views  are  submitted  to  the  Convention,  and  to  Baptist  educators 
and  friends  of  education  in  the  West,  with  a  diffident  consciousness  how 
very  delicate  as  well  as  important  are  many  of  the  questions  involved,  yet 
with  a  frankness  which  the  duty  assigned  called  for,  and  confidence  in  the 
indulgence  and  intelligence  of  the  brethren  has  inspired. 

NOTE. 

In  the  enumeration  of  colleges  and  universities  at  the  beginning  of  the 
above  paper,  one  at  least  ought  to  have  been  included.  La  Grange  College, 
at  La  Grange,  in  Missouri.  This  institution,  embracing  males  and  females, 
deserves  to  rank  with  the  best  of  the  collegiate  schools,  although  not  as  yet 
ranking  fully  as  a  college.  Its  building  occupies  a  handsome  site,  overlooking 
the  Mississippi,  while  as  a  school,  under  the  Presidency  of  Dr.  Cook, 
it  enjoys  a  large  patronage  and  does  excellent  educational  work.  Elmira 
College,  in  Illinois,  was  regarded  by  the  writer  of  this  paper  as  belonging 
more   properly  to  the   institutions  whose  work  is  so  well  discussed  by  Dr. 


50  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

Wajland;  a  remark  which  may  also  be  made  of  Mount  Carroll  Seminary — 
like  the  one  just  named,  an  excellent  school.  Another,  fully  ranking  with 
these,  Rural  Park  Seminary,  at  Upper  Alton,  we  regret  to  say,  is  announced 
as  suspended. 

The  CHAIR  announced  that  tlie  subject  of  the  paper  just  read 
was  now  open  for  discussion. 

Dr.  CUTTING  wished  to  refer  to  a  matter  connected  with  the 
general  subject  of  the  paper  —  that  of  the  State  institutions  wliich 
have  been  established  in  the  West.  These  institutions  are  facts,  and 
they  will  exist  and  abide  in  the  land.  The  question  for  us  was  our 
relations  to  them.  He  referred  to  the  University  of  Michigan.  He 
would  not  say  that  the  Baptists  of  Michigan  should  not  avail  them- 
selves of  the  advantages  of  this  University.  But  have  they  no  other 
duty  in  the  cause  of  Christian  education.?  He  thought  they  had. 
It  may  not  be  advisable  to  attempt  a  university  in  Michigan,  but  a 
college  we  should  have.  If  we  rely  upon  high  schools  we  shall  fail 
in  securing  recruits  for  our  ministry.  It  was  not  proposed  to  estab- 
lish academies  everywhere,  but  only  in  such  places  as  they  were 
needed,  and  where  they  could  be  supported.  He  referred  to  Phillips 
Academy  as  an  example  of  what  an  academv  should  be. 

Prof.  OLNEY,  of  Michigan,  said  that  from  beginning  to  end  the 
paper  had  his  entire  approbation.  He  regarded  its  suggestions  as 
eminently  wise  ;  and  if  they  were  carried  out  he  thought  we  should 
enter  upon  a  new  and  upwai'd  career  of  progress.  He  made  some 
remarks  concerning  academies.  It  is  not  feeders  that  are  so  much 
wanted  as  food  at  the  places  where  students  are  to  be  fed.  Give  our 
universities  and  colleges  adequate  endowments,  and  they  would 
exert  an  influence  which  would  attract  students. 

Prof.  TEN  BROEK  said  that  the  foundation  of  the  University 
was  actually  laid  as  long  ago  as  1817,  when  Michigan  contained  but 
six  thousand  people,  half  of  whom  could  not  read.  Although  it 
had  a  beginning  and  a  charter  so  long  ago,  it  was  not  an  actual  Uni- 
versity until  1841.  This  shows  that  the  idea  of  beginning  early  with 
our  higher  institutions  is  not  a  new  thing.  The  main  point  is,  that 
an  early  beginning  has  accomplished  that  which  has  been  accom- 
plished in  Michigan,  to  which  reference  has  been  made. 

Prof.  ALLEN,  of  Minnesota,  spoke  in  relation  to  the  University 
of  that  State,  and  to  the  institution  at  Wasioja,  of  which  he  is  Prin- 
cipal, and  to  other  educational  matters  in  Minnesota.  The  question 
is,  shall  Baptists  have  anything  to  do  in  this  matter,  or  shall  we  let 
things  take  their  course,  and  not  attempt  to  educate  our  sons  and 
daughters  in  our  denominational  schools.? 

Prof.  TEN  BROEK  said  that  it  had  been  said  that  we  have  no 
religion  in  the  Michigan  University.     Do  you  not  remember  that  one 


EDUCATIONAL    CONVENTION.  5 1 

of  the  missionaries  designated  last  evening  was  converted  there  ?  It 
was  all  a  mistake  that  we  can  not  have  religious  influence  in  State 
institutions. 

Prof.  JOHN  STEVENS  gave  some  reminiscences  of  Denison 
University.  He  thought  that  the  starting  out  on  a  grand  plan  was 
the  making  of  that  school.  He  was  of  opinion  that  the  true  way 
for  Baptists  was  to  start  a  college  in  every  one  of  the  larger  States ; 
not  an  academy.  The  Western  people  wanted  something  with  a 
large  and  high-sounding  title.  He  advocated  the  wisdom  of  having 
colleges  in  every  State,  and  he  would  urge  their  early  establishment 
in  all  the  new  States,  and  rally  around  them  all  the  strength  possible 
to  secure. 

Dr.  READ,  of  Minnesota,  strongly  advocated  the  commencing 
our  educational  work  in  the  new  States  of  the  West  with  colleges 
and  universities,  instead  of  academies.  They  would  be  more  suc- 
cessful from  the  beginning.  Every  ambitious  town  would  subscribe 
money  and  lands  for  a  college  or  university,  while  they  would  not 
look  at  a  proposition  to  establish  an  academy.  There  is  something 
in  a  name,  after  all.  And  then,  colleges  would  create  feeders  for 
themselves. 

Dr.  CUTTING  inquired  if  Dr.  READ  did  not  think  that  the 
existence  of  academies  would  add  largely  to  the  number  of  college 
students. 

Dr.  READ  replied  that  it  undoubtedly  would.  He  again  reit- 
erated that  it  would  be  much  easier  to  obtain  contributions  for  a 
college  than  for  an  academy,  even  of  the  same  grade.  People  at 
the  West  want  something  that  sounds  large. 

Prof.  TEN  BROEK,  of  Michigan,  remarked  that  he  need  not  say 
how  much  he  admired  the  paper  which  had  been  read,  for  the  clear- 
ness and  force  of  its  statements.  Of  all  education  he  thought  uni- 
versity education  might  be  most  safely  obtained  by  Baptists  in  State 
institutions.  By  the  time  the  student  reaches  that  stage,  he  has 
opinions  formed  and  fixed  ;  while  in  the  academy  period  his  views 
were  unformed  and  immature.  He  thought  that  the  question  of 
denominational  universities  had  better  be  indefinitely  postponed, 
that  we  may  expend  our  efibrts  on  academies  and  colleges. 

Rev.  J.  N.  SEELEY,  of  Iowa,  spoke  generally  upon  the  questions 
before  the  Convention.  He  was  opposed  to  Baptists  having  any- 
thing to  do  with  institutions  of  learning  under  the  patronage  of  the 
State. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  with  prayer  by  Rev.  JAMES 
UPHAM,  D.D.,  of  Massachusetts. 


52  WESTERN    BAPTIST 


Thursday,  May  25. 

MORNING  SESSION. 

After  prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  WOOD,  of  Upper  Alton,  the  Convention 
listened  to  the  reading  of  a  paper  by  Rev.  J.  BULKLEY,  D.D.,  of 
Shurtleft' College,  upon  the  question  : 

HOW  CHRISTIAN  INSTITUTIONS  OF  HIGHER  LEARNING,  ACAD- 
EMIES, COLLEGES,  UNIVERSITIES  AND  THEOLOGICAL 
SEMINARIES,  KEEPING  PROGRESS  WITH  THE  GROWTH 
OF  SOCIETY,  CAN  BEST  BE  BUILT  UP  IN  THE  WEST,  WITH 
DUE  REGARD  ALWAYS  TO  OTHER  NECESSARY  EXPEND- 
ITURES OF  MONEY  FOR  RELIGIOUS   PURPOSES. 

By  the  "West"  we  understand  the  Northern  portion  of  the  Mississippi 
valley  and  the  regions  bordering  on  these  lal<es.  By  "  Christian  Institutions  " 
we  suppose  to  be  meant  especially  institutions  under  denominational  control. 
The  question  propounded  is  entirely  practical  and  exceedingly  difficult. 
The  ability  of  the  church  to  rise  to  the  measure  of  her  obligation  can  not 
be  questioned.  Her  willingness  must  depend  upon  her  clear  perception  of 
recognized  obligation.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  building  up  these 
higher  institutions  are  not  peculiar  to  the  "West;"  if  we  except  perhaps 
two  elements  —  her  youth  and  her  consequent  want  of  large  wealth  which 
can  only  accumulate  through  the  investments  of  centuries.  Time  was  when 
elements  of  Western  character  were  peculiar.  The  richness  of  the  virgin 
soil  of  this  valley,  the  low  price  at  which  the  most  desirable  homesteads 
could  be  obtained,  the  salubrity  and  comparative  healthfulness  of  the 
climate,  the  freedom  of  religious  opinions,  the  essential  equality  of  all 
classes  in  social  position,  and  the  wonderful  opportunities  for  political  pre- 
ferment, presented  strong  attractions  to  those  who  sought  wealth  or  power, 
position  or  honor,  a  d  brought  together  in  this  valley,  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,  elements  of  character  most  dissimilar  and  antagonistic.  It  has  been 
declared  to  be  a  heterogeneous  mass  without  any  homogeneous  character. 
Wildest  confusion  reigned  supreme.  Even  now,  every  city,  town  and  village 
is  a  perfect  Babel.  Almost  every  shade  of  political  and  religious  opinion  in 
the  world  is  firmly  held,  fearlessly  advocated  and  freely  tolerated.  It  is  the 
crucible,  heated  seven  times  hotter  than  it  is  wont  to  be  heated,  into  which 
the  Almighty  chemist  has  cast  every  conceivable  social,  political  and 
religious  opinion,  and  the  resulting  amalgam  is  as  yet  by  no  means 
determined.  Well  will  it  be  for  the  world  and  church,  if  in  the  experiment 
the  crucible  itself,  by  the  intensity  of  its  own  action,  is  not  rent  into  a 
thousand  fragments. 

But  in  this  respect  the  West  is  no  longer  peculiar.  The  foundations  of 
society  in  the  old  world  are  broken  up.  Cherished  political  and  religious 
institutions  are  no  longer  revered  simply  because  their  locks  are  hoary 
with  the  frosts  of  many  centuries.  Men  are  demanding  their  birth-right. 
The  divine  right  of  kings  is  questioned  and  denied.  The  inalienable  rights 
of  man  are  discussed  in  the  very  cabinets  of  kings  and  emperors.  Papal 
infallibility  possesses  no  power  to  save  a  crumbling  religious  despotism. 
The  "  Star  of  the  East"  guides  the  masses  as  well  as  the  "wise  men"  to 
our   shores,  where   freedom  to  worship  God  is  guaranteed  to  all,  and  the 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  53 

teeming  millions,  in  even  geometrical  ratio,  within  the  last  twenty  years, 
have  been  surging  across  the  Atlantic,  filling  all  the  thoroughfares  of  this 
new  \Yorld,  flooding  the  land,  and  threatening  the  entire  subversion  of  all 
our  God-given  institutions.  Ignorance  in  science,  corruption  in  morals, 
superstition  and  infidelity  in  religion,  blast  and  wither  and  consume  every- 
thing valuable,  lovely  or  hopeful.  The  late  war,  too,  has  rocked  our  con- 
tinent like  the  shock  of  an  earthquake.  Established  and  cherished  social 
ideas  have  been  uprooted.  New  and  unexampled  energies  have  been  started 
into  life.  By  one  stroke  of  the  pen  an  entire  race  has  been  lifted  from  slavery 
to  citizenship,  and  the  end  is  not  yet. 

These  and  kindred  causes  are  equalizing  the  elements  of  social,  political 
and  religious  power  throughout  the  entire  land,  so  that  there  will  soon  be, 
literally,  no  North,  no  South,  no  East,  no  West.  Hence  the  principles  that 
apply  to  the  building  up  of  the  "Higher  Institutions  of  Learning"  else- 
where apply  with  equal  force  in  the  West  It  is  taken  for  granted  in  this 
paper  that  our  Western  institutions,  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  should 
be  made  equal  to  any  in  the  land.  That  in  all  their  equipments,  in  buildings 
and  endowments,  laboratories  and  libraries,  chemical  and  philosophical 
apparatus,  in  thoroughness  of  study  and  severity  of  discipline,  in  the 
character  and  culture  of  our  professors  and  presidents,  we  must  present  to 
young  men  who  seek  a  liberal  education  and  thorough  discipline,  attractions 
equal  to  those  presented  by  institutions  in  the  East. 

First.  While  we  depend  upon  the  masses  for  the  means  to  meet  other  and 
necessary  expe?iditures  for  religious  purposes,  we  must  rely  upon  the  few  for 
liberal  contributions  to  build  up  these  institutions  of  learning:  We  speak 
now  exclusively  of  provisions  for  buildings,  endowments,  scholarships, 
fellowships,  etc.  Our  other  religious  enterprises.  Home  and  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, the  Bible  and  Publication  Societies,  the  erection  of  church  edifices, 
and  all  the  necessary  church  expenses,  appeal  directly  to  the  consciences 
and  call  out  the  sympathies  of  the  masses.  Hence  annual,  or  semi-annual 
appeals  for  these  religious  enterprises  can  be  successfully  made,  because 
every  one  is  compelled  to  acknowledge  both  their  propriety  and  necessity. 

In  fact,  annual  contributions  to  all  our  great  national  societies  in  per- 
petuity, and  in  increased  amounts,  are  becoming  to  be  regarded  as  an  almost 
indispensable  condition  of  discipleship.  The  call  comes  to  each  with 
increasing  positiveness  and  power,  to  make  immediate  and  enlarged  pro- 
visions for  the  speedy  publication  of  the  Gospel  in  all  lands.  Not  so  in 
building  up  these  "  Higher  Institutions"  of  learning.  These  appeals  must 
be  made  to,  and  dependence  placed  upon,  men  of  larger  cultivation,  men' 
who  have  themselves  enjoyed  superior  literary  advantages,  and  can  properly 
appreciate  them,  men  of  more  enlarged  and  liberal  views,  who  can  clearly 
comprehend  the  immense  and  undying  power  exerted  by  cultivated  intellect, 
men  who  recognize  the  fact,  patent  in  all  history,  secular  and  sacred,  that 
thoroughly  disciplined  mind  in  State  and  Church  controls  the  world  and 
shapes  the  destinies  of  the  ages. 

Such  men,  either  possessing  wealth  themselves,  or  controlling  men  who  do 
possess  such  wealth,  must  guide  it  into  channels  flowing  liberally  and  unin- 
terruptedly in  the  direction  of  these  institutions.  Only  men  of  large  wealth 
and  liberal  culture  can  be  relied  on  for  those  reallj-  princely  donations  that 
are  absolutely  essential,  keeping  progress  with  the  spirit  of  the  age,  for 
buildings  and  endowments,  libraries  and  laboratories,  scholarships  and  fel- 
lowships, galleries  of  science  and  art,  gathering  together  and  preserving  in 
these  great  centers  the  intellectual  and  religious,  the  scientific  and  sesthetic 


54  WESTERN   BAPTIST 

treasures  of  the  present  and  the  past.  Thus,  in  past  ages,  all  institutions 
not  under  State  control  have  been  founded  and  sustained;  thus  must  they 
be  built  up  in  the  future. 

Second.  In  order  to  effect  this  object,  the  frindpics  of  Christian  stc-Mard- 
ship  must  be  more  frequently  and  more  clearly  presented  by  representative 
men,  and  more  distinctly  recognized  by  all. 

In  the  territorj  embraced  within  the  legitimate  influence  of  three  or  four 
of  our  leading  Western  colleges,  there  is  wealth  enough,  owned  in  fee  simple 
by  our  membership,  to  place  at  the  disposal  of  each  of  these  colleges,  within 
a  twelvemonth,  more  than  half  a  million  of  dollars,  and  that,  too,  without 
in  the  least  interfering  with  the  legitimate  business  of  our  membership,  or 
taking  from  their  families  one  article  of  necessity  or  even  luxury.  In  Illi- 
nois alone  there  are  many  Baptist  churches  which  severally  own  property 
worth,  in  the  aggregate,  more  than  half  a  million  of  dollars.  It  is  not 
uncommon  to  find  men  in  our  churches  worth  from  fifty  thousand  to  two 
hundred  thousand,  or  even  half  a  million  of  dollars.  They  are  men  devoted 
to  Christ,  men  who  love  their  race  and  love  the  church,  and  who  are  willing 
to  meet  all  the  demands  of  clearly  recognized  duty.  But  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  all  our  membership  have  yet  to  learn  that  in  religion  and  in  higher 
education  money  is  a  power  and  a  necessity.  Its  power  is  acknowledged  in 
politics,  in  business,  in  State  and  National  development;  but  the  Gospel, 
and  everything  pertaining  to  it  or  growing  out  of  it,  must  be  without  money 
and  without  price.  To  mingle  money  and  religion,  as  to  mingle  politics  and 
religion,  is  profanation.  Every  investment  made  in  religious  institutions  or 
higher  schools  of  learning,  is  regarded  as  a  gift,  and  the  idea  of  moral  obli- 
gation is  of  necessity  excluded.  The  consecration  of  property  is  hardly 
regarded  as  a  Christian  duty.  Hence,  too  often  the  most  reckless  extrava- 
gance on  the  part  of  Christians,  and  the  most  hazardous  experiments  to 
acquire  property,  are  witnessed.  The  most  abject  and  cringing  subjection  to 
the  imperious  demands  of  appetite  or  fashion,  in  Christian  families,  annually 
consumes  its  millions.  Worldliness,  voluptuousness,  selfishness,  and  pride, 
are  cultivated  and  developed  to  the  utter  destruction,  in  numberless  instances, 
of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  wealthy. 

When  will  our  churches  be  filled  with  John  P.  Crozers,  who,  while  living, 
invest  with  princely  munificence  in  the  cause  of  sanctified  education,  and 
•whose  sons,  stimulated  by  parental  precept  and  example,  by ///e/r  munificent 
benefactions    stud  the  diadem  of  the  Redeemer  with  imperishable  jewels. 

Third.      We  should  patronize  our  own  schools. 

I  have  no  means  of  determining  how  large  a  proportion  of  our  sons  and 
daughters  are  educated  in  our  own  institutions  of  learning.  I  believe  no 
other  body  of  professed  Christians  in  the  West  possess  so  little  adhesive 
denominational  power  in  education  as  the  Baptists.  A  very  large  percentage, 
especially  of  our  daughters,  finds  its  way  into  Catholic  schools,  at  the  immi- 
nent risk,  not  only  of  their  loss  to  evangelical  Christianity,  but  also  at  the 
risk  of  their  bitter  antagonism  to  the  truth.  The  idea  of  moral  and  financial 
support  to  our  own  institutions  of  learning,  is  often  allowed  very  little  weight 
in  determining  where  son  or  daughter  shall  be  educated.  Even  when  our 
own  institutions  possess  superior  facilities  for  the  most  extensive  and  thor- 
ough mtellectual  discipline,  and  the  moral  and  religious  influences  are  of  the 
highest  and  purest  character.  Christian  parents  deliberately  permit  the 
slighest  considerations  to  determine  the  choice  of  son  or  daughter  in  the 
selection  of  a  place  of  study,  often  placing  them  under  the  control  of  schools 


r- 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  55 

far  inferior  to  our  own,  and  where  the  danger  of  shipwreck  to  faith  is  immi- 
nent and  alarming. 

A  large  number  of  students  is  a  necessary  element  in  the  f  resent  pros- 
ferity  of  our  higher  institutions,  and  the  prospective  prosperity  of  these 
institutions,  through  the  students  as  Alumni,  is  absolutely  immeasurable. 
We  need  every  eletnent  of  Baptist  strength.  True,  possible  contingencies 
may  justify  a  parent  in  sending  to  other  institutions  under  evangelical  con- 
trol, in  preference  to  our  own,  but  such  contingencies,  we  believe,  are  rare 
indeed.  I  would  greatly  prefer  that  my  own  children  should  be  entirely 
deprived  of  intellectual  discipline,  and  their  knowledge  confined  to  the  merest 
rudiments,  rather  than  that  they  should  be  subjected  to  the  influence  of 
Catholic  schools,  where  faith  in  evangelical  Christianity  may  be  not  only 
rudely  shaken,  but  ruthlessly  uprooted. 

Should  it  be  said  that  our  own  institutions  are  inferior  to  others,  we 
should  either  demand  the  proof  or  meet  the  assertion  with  a  positive  denial. 
Were  it  proved  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt,  that  we  are  behind  others 
in  the  extent  of  our  provisions  for  intellectual  culture  and  discipline,  this 
would  simply  impose  upon  us  the  imperative  obligation  of  sending  to  our 
own  schools,  and  of  making  them,  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  equal  to 
any  in  the  land,  and  everyway  worthy  our  position,  our  numbers,  our  wealth, 
our  principles,  our  prestige,  and  our  history. 

Fourth.  We  should  seek  a  sharper  definition  of  the  hou7idaries  of  State 
authority  in  tnatters  of  higher  education,  and  adhere  -with  rigid  inflexibility 
to  the  time-honored  and  cherished  Baptist  idea  of  an  entire  separation  of 
Church  and  State. 

I  have  no  disposition  to  find  fault  with  that  noble  band  of  Baptists  in  our 
great  metropolis,  whose  recent  acceptance  of  a  lease  from  the  city  is  con- 
sidered by  inany  a  crime  of  such  magnitude  as  almost  to  exclude  them  from 
the  sympathy  and  confidence  of  the  great  Baptist  brotherhood.  My  own 
opinion  is,  that  in  a  great  variety  of  ways  our  churches  are  charitable  insti- 
tutions, and  our  institutions  of  learning,  in  desiring  exemption  from  taxa- 
tion, and  in  seeking  kindred  advantages,  ask  and  receive  direct  aid  from  the 
State,  without  thereby  in  the  least  acknowledging  the  right  of  the  State  to 
control  them  —  aid  received,  too,  in  methods  universally  approved,  and  differ- 
ing very  little  from  the  principle  involved  in  the  action  in  New  York,  by 
so  many  condemned. 

But  there  is,  we  think,  another  and  a  legitimate  field  of  investigation.  _./ 
The  State  universally  assumes  the  right,  and  it  is  generally  conceded,  to  tax 
her  citizens  to  any  assignable  limit  to  support  higher  institutions  of  learning, 
under  State  control.  Against  this  assumed  right,  we  enter  our  solemn 
protest,  though  we  may  stand  alone.  Christians  of  different  denominations 
are  compelled,  by  the  law  of  self-preservation,  by  their  fidelity  to  their 
children,  by  fealty  to  Christ,  to  exert  their  utmost  endeavors  to  educate 
their  own  sons  and  daughters,  at  very  great  expense  in  their  own  institutions 
Wf  learning.  Now,  in  addition  to  all  this  necessary  expense,  often  pressed  to 
the  very  verge  of  possibility,  requiring  the  most  rigid  economy,  and  the 
severest  industry,  what  right  has  the  State  to  compel  us  to  pay  a  large  annual 
tax,  to  enable  her  to  afford  free  tuition,  not  only  to  the  children  of  the 
indigent,  but  also  to  the  sons  of  the  wealthy  in  these  higher  institutions 
under  State  control?  True,  the  State  has  the  right,  nay,  it  is  made  her  duty 
to  provide  the  best  possible  facilities  for  the  education  of  all  her  subjects  to 
a  limited  extent.  But  we  respectfully  ask^if  that  limit  is  not  reached  long 
before  you  arrive  at  these  higher  institutions? 


^  '^  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

The  State  has  also  the  right,  and  it  is  made  her  duty,  to  provide  most 
liberally  for  her  unfortunate  classes  — the  blind,  the  insane,  the  feeble-minded, 
— but  has  the  State  the  right  to  establish  and  support,  by  direct  taxation, 
Normal  schools.  Agricultural  colleges,  and  higher  institutions  of  learning 
where  tuition  is  comparatively  gratuitous?  By  this  gratuitous  tuition  they 
are  brought  in  direct  competition  with  denominational  institutions,  where 
the  student  must  pay  his  own  tuition.  We  believe  such  an  assumption  of 
power  is  a  direct  and  palpable  violation,  by  the  State,  of  the  rights  of  the 
governed.  Besides,  does  not  the  experience  of  the  past  few  j'ears,  and  do 
not  the  indications  in  the  immediate  future  show  conclusively'  that  the  most 
insidious  and  plausible  principles  of  infidelity,  entrench  themselves  under 
the  guise  of  Liberal  Christianit}',  in  these  State  institutions?  And  are  they 
not  widely  disseminated  by  scientific  lecturers  and  travelers,  who  are  sup- 
ported by  State  funds,  wrung  by  the  stern  hand  of  the  law  from  the  pockets 
of  our  reluctant  yeomanry,  who,  in  scores  of  instances  are  thereby  rendered 
unable  to  aid  their  own  institutions,  or  even  afford  the  means  of  liberal 
culture  to  their  own  children  ? 

True,  many  of  our  noblest  Christian  instructors  are  engaged  in  teaching 
in  State  institutions.  While  this  assumed  right  of  the  government  is  claimed 
and  enforced,  it  must  be  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  do  all  in  her  power  to 
counteract  the  teachings  of  infidelity,  by  encouraging  our  best  men  to  aspire 
to  the  very  first  places  on  boards  of  instruction  in  State  institutions.  Am 
I  asked  how  far  the  State  should  go  in  providing  by  law,  for  the  education 
of  her  subjects?  We  believe  she  should  provide  the  most  liberal  facilities 
for  the  education  of  all  classes,  perhaps  so  far  as  her  high  schools.  But  we 
think  she  should  stop  there,  and  not  aSsume  the  right  to  compel  all  by  taxa- 
tion to  pay  for  the  labors  of  those  scientific  lecturers,  who  fill  the  minds  of 
the  inexperienced  and  unwary  with  skepticism,  and  thus  undermine  the  very 
foundations  of  our  religion.  Tuition  in  all  higher  institutions  should  per- 
haps be  gratuitous,  but  the  voluntary  principle  alone  should  be  relied  on  for 
all  funds  necessary  to  establish  and  support  them.  The  voluntary  principle 
and  that  alone,  we  regard  as  in  consistence  with  the  genius  of  our  political 
institutions,  and  in  harmony  with  the  inalienable  rights  of  man.  I  may 
differ  in  judgment  with  every  member  of  this  Convention,  but  I  sincerely 
protest  against  the  unjustifiable  assumption  of  power  on  the  part  of  the 
State.  Its  evils,  present  and  prospective,  are  such  as  to  call  for  earnest  effort 
to  check  it. 

Permit  all  evangelical  and  unevangelical  denominations,  calling  them- 
selves Christians,  all  Catholics  and  Jews,  Mohammedans  and  Infidels, 
Atheists  and  Pagans,  to  employ  their  means  and  men  with  unrestricted 
freedom  in  building  up  their  own  higher  institutions  of  learning,  but  compel 
none  by  tax,  to  support  in  institutions  higher  than  the  high  school,  teachers 
or  lecturers,  whose  instructions  and  moral  privileges  they  can  not  oppose. 
,  Can  the  State  in  justice  compel  me  to  pay  for  the  dissemination  of  principles 
1   that  I  despise?     If  so,  upon  what  principles  of  equity  is  the  demand  based? 

\ -  Fifth.     Let  us  culth'ate  a  kindlier  feelitiff  between  different  and  apparently 

rival  schools. 

In  the  early  settlement  of  a  country,  large-hearted  and  conscientious  men, 
governed  by  no  motives  of  worldly  policy  or  gain,  controlled  solely  by  a 
desire  to  widely  extend  the  blessing  of  sanctified  learning,  may  establish  a 
college  or  found  a  Theological  school,  at  a  point,  which,  in  the  development 
of  the  resources  of  a  country,  and  in  the  progress  of  population,  may  be 
found  at  a  distance  from  a  great  center  of  wealth  and  population,  of  com- 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  57 

mercial  and  social  power.  Large  property  is  secured,  remunerative  invest- 
ments made,  buildings  erected,  endowments  obtained,  friends  gathered, 
alumni  increased,  and  the  roots  of  the  institution  thrown  hundreds  of 
fathoms  deep  into  human  hearts  and  human  sympathies;  shall  we  ruthlessly 
uproot  them  ? 

Brethren  in  New  York  once  tried  the  experiment  on  Hamilton,  founded 
in  prayers  and  sacrifices.  The  only  result,  aside  from  ill-feeling  engendered, 
was  to  make  the  Institution  throw  its  roots  the  deeper,  and  extend  its  boughs 
the  wider.  Hamilton  lives,  and  will  live  as  long  as  our  Government  shall 
exist,  and  possibly  a  great  deal  longer.  Higher  institutions  are  not  easily 
removed  or  destroyed.  Their  vitality  is  proverbial.  Lessons  of  adversity 
often  give  them  increased  activity  and  power. 

As  in  the  vegetable  world,  the  storms  of  winter  and  the  darkness  of  night 
are  as  essential  to  health  and  development  as  the  sunshine  of  summer  and 
the  light  of  day;  so  seasons  of  peril  call  forth  friends,  develop  new  resources, 
and  gather  round  an  institution  elements  of  power.  These  elements  of 
power  are,  however,  too  often  procured  at  the  expense  of  Christian  fellow- 
ship and  brotherly  love,  and  hence  their  cost  may  greatly  exceed  their  value. 

Is  there  not  a  better  way? 

When  conflicting  interests  exist,  should  they  not,  as  far  as  possible,  be 
harmoniously  adjusted  in  the  spirit  of  the  religion  of  Christ.''  Should  not 
prayers  and  sympathies,  efforts  and  material  aid,  vigorously  combine  to 
make  our  several  institutions  all  that  the  future  of  this  great  government, 
and  the  church  of  Christ,  demand.  Instead  of  turning  our  guns,  France- 
like, against  each  other,  do  not  reason  and  religion  unite  in  urging  to  a  more 
thorough  combination  of  all  our  resources  to  give  the  widest  possible  effi- 
ciency to  all  in  the  contest  with  an  unequal  foe.'' 

Institutions  of  learning,  long  established  and  partially  endowed,  resist 
with  wonderful  energy,  and  almost  certain  success,  every  effort  to  remove  or 
destroy  them,  by  whomsoever  made.  Said  Abram  to  Lot,  "  Let  there  be  no 
strife,  I  pray  thee,  between  thee  and  me,  and  between  my  herdsmen  and  thy 
herdsmen,  for  we  are  brethren."  Moreover  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  build- 
ing up  our  Western  institutions  do  not  exist  so  much  in  the  fact  that  we  have 
too  many  such  institutions,  as  in  the  fact  that  the  number  of  students  bears 
no  adequate  proportion  to  the  number  of  our  membership.  The  Baptists  in 
Illinois  number  57,594.  How  far  we  may  have  imbibed  the  unchristian 
spirit  of  the  age  in  regarding  children  as  a  calamity  rather  than  a  blessing, 
it  is  not  my  province  to  determine.  We  suppose  the  number  of  children  in 
Baptist  families  will  compare  favorably  with  others,  and  yet  we  query 
whether  one  thousand  pupils  of  both  sexes,  from  Baptist  families  in  Illinois, 
can  be  found  in  our  higher  institutions  at  home  and  abroad.  The  fact  is 
painful  as  it  is  true,  that  our  neglect  of  higher  culture  is  almost  universal. 

The  principal  reasons  for  this  neglect  are  four:  financial  inability;  the 
want  of  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  nature  and  value  of  intellectual  culture; 
the  lack  of  proper  parental  authority  in  requiring  children  to  pursue  a  course 
of  study;  and  covetousness.  - 

The  first  needs  no  remark.  Financial  inability  effectually  excludes  thou- 
sands from  intellectual  culture  who  otherwise  would  secure  it.  In  regard  to 
the  second,  permit  me  to  say  that  thousands  of  Christian  parents  suppose 
that  six  months  or  a  year's  study  in  a  commercial  college  will  thoroughly 
qualify  their  promising  boy  to  enter  immediately  the  highway  to  mercantile 
or  professional  success,  placing  him,  in  the  briefest  possible  period,  on  the 
same  plane  with  Drew  or  Vanderbilt,  Astor  or  Stewart.     Nay,  if  he  does  not 


58  WESTERN   BAPTIST 

become  a  gubernatorial,  or  even  presidential  possibility,  as  soon  as  the 
period  of  constitutional  eligibility  is  reached,  the  parents  are  disappointed. 
If  Rail-splitters  and  Tanners  can  become  Presidents,  much  more  those  who 
have  been  graduated  from  a  commercial  college.  Tens  of  thousands  of  sons 
and  daughters  are  ruined  for  time,  if  not  for  eternity,  by  this  false  system  of 
education,  that,  in  violation  of  all  the  established  laws  of  God,  would,  in  a 
single  year,  metamorphose  a  little  child  into  an  intellectual  giant. 

In  regard  to  the  third  point,  it  is  sufficient  to  remark  that,  in  numberless 
instances,  parents  possess  the  financial  ability  and  the  earnest  desire  to 
thoroughly  educate  their  children  ;  but  their  entire  system  of  family  govern- 
ment is  so  wretchedly  defective,  that  to  keep  a  child  for  a  series  of  years  at 
hard  work  in  a  higher  institution  of  learning,  subject  to  the  severest  drill  of 
which  it  is  capable,  is  an  impossibility. 

In  the  fourth  instance,  the  love  of  money,  or  pure  covetousnoss,  effectually 
excludes  from  our  halls  of  learning  large  numbers  of  the  noblest  youth  of 
our  land,  every  element  of  whose  being  palpitates  with  desire  to  thoroughly 
explore  the  fields  of  scientific  investigation.  In  the  esteem  of  covetousness, 
a  few  paltry  dollars  are  permitted  to  outweigh  all  the  advantages  arising 
from  thorough  culture.  True,  in  subsequent  years,  the  child,  under  favor- 
able influences,  may  partially  repair  the  injury  sustained,  and  become 
respectably  intelligent,  useful,  and  happy.  But  in  numerous  instances  he 
must  go  through  life,  ignorant  and  painfully  conscious  of  his  inferiority ; 
gazing  upon  all  the  beauties  of  God's  glorious  universe  with  no  taste  or 
ability  to  enjoy  them.  But  for  covetousness  he  might  have  been  the  peer  of 
the  ablest  and  noblest  men  of  the  land,  walking,  as  John  B.  Gough  expresses 
it,  "  with  his  foot  upon  the  daisy,  and  his  head  among  the  stars." 

Instead,  then,  of  laboring  to  restrict  the  influence  of  institutions  already 
established,  let  us  unitedly  and  earnestly  labor  to  correct  those  false  and 
destructive  ideas  of  education,  and  fill  all  our  colleges  to  repletion  with  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  our  common  brotherhood.  This  I  regard  as  the  most 
eifectual  method  of  building  up  Western  institutions  in  the  shortest  practica- 
ble period.     It  is  fundamental  to  our  growth  and  development. 

Six///.  Ejicourage  concentration  of  gifts  to  the  largest  possible  extent 
upon  our  institutions  of  leartiing. 

No  more  suicidal  policy  was  ever  adopted  by  a  pastor,  than  that  policy 
that  would  either  discourage,  or  fail  to  encourage,  the  very  largest  possible 
benefactions,  on  the  part  of  the  wealthy,  fearing  that  his  own  salary,  or  his 
own  church,  would  suffer  to  the  full  amount  of  all  contributions  to  benevo- 
lent objects  outside  of  his  own  immediate  field  of  labor.  The  most  success- 
ful method  of  drying  up  all  Christian  sympathy,  and  eff"ectually  closing  all 
channels  of  home  benevolence,  is  to  confine  your  gifts  to  your  own  field. 
Teach  your  people  that  everything  is  demanded  for  home  consumption,  and 
you  will  soon  have  nothing  to  consume.  *  But  open  wide  as  possible  the 
channels  of  benevolence  for  foreign  fields,  and  every  necessity  of  the  church 
at  home  will  be  liberally  and  cheerfully  provided  for.  It  is  hardly  possible, 
save  in  \Q.ry  extreme  cases,  to  secure  too  large  benefactions  to  ihe  church,  or 
to  the  cause  of  sanctified  education.  Hence,  one  of  the  very  best  methods 
of  building  up  our  higher  institutions  of  learning,  in  harmony  with  the 
enlarged  demands  for  money  for  other  religious  purposes,  is  to  encourage, 
not  only  the  most  liberal  benefactions  for  home  and  foreign  demands,  but  to 
equally  encourage  the  wealthy  to  concentrate  largely  upon  institutions  of 
learning.  The  more  liberally  the  wealthy  can  be  induced  to  give  to  increase 
the  eflSciency  and  power  of  our  institutions  of  learning,  the  more  willingly 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  59 

and  liberally  will  they  give  to  meet  every  other  demand  of  Christian  benevo- 
lence. It  is  the  stagnant  pool  that  fills  the  atmosphere  with  malaria  and 
death.  It  is  the  flowing  stream,  leaping  and  dancing  on  its  joyous  errand  to 
the  ocean,  that  is  always  full,  and  that  spreads  verdure,  and  beauty,  and  life, 
and  bliss,  around  the  habitations  that  skirt  its  borders. 

Hence  I  have  very  little  sympathy  with  those  who  so  bitterly  condemn 
the  action  of  our  city  churches  in  the  erection  of  these  magnificent  temples 
to  the  worship  of  the  living  God,  at  such  immense  expense.  When  will  our 
brethren  learn  the  true  philosophy  of  Christian  beneficence.''  When  will 
they  learn  that  these  large-hearted  brethren,  who  give  their  tens  of  thousands 
to  the  erection  of  these  grand  temples,  are  by  these  very  gifts  prepared  to 
honor  the  largest  possible  drafts  that  the  cause  of  Christ  may  make  upon 
them.-*  Encourage  Christian  men  who  are  enlightened  by  the  prayerful  study 
of  God's  Word,  and  who  are  directed  by  the  promptings  of  God's  Spirit  to 
give  to  such  causes,  and  in  such  amounts  as  judgment  may  dictate  or  ability 
justify.  We  need  not  have  the  shadow  of  a  fear  that  the  particular  cause  in 
which  we  are  so  deeply  interested  will  sutler  loss  by  the  most  enlarged  bene- 
factions to  other  religious  purposes. 

No  investment  exerts  an  influence  so  extensive  and  imperishable;  none 
tells  with  such  wonderful  power  upon  the  destinies  of  our  race  as  these  large 
investments  made  to  our  colleges  and  universities.  The  power  thus  concen- 
trated and  exerted  in  these  great  centers  of  intellectual  and  religious  influ- 
ence can  never  die,  and  falls  little  short  of  omnipotence.  Very  soon,  in  our 
own  land,  under  the  purely  voluntary  system,  discarding  the  proffered  aid  of 
the  State,  conferred  at  the  expense  of  unwarrantable  taxation,  our  higher 
institutions  of  learning  uniting,  in  happiest  and  loveliest  wedlock,  science 
and  religion,  will  demand  and  receive  their  millions  of  invested  funds  from 
enlightened  and  consecrated  Christian  benevolence. 

Lastly.  Kyicourage  and  seek  greater  -personal  consecration  to  Christ. 
No  motive  is  so  legitimate,  none  possesses  such  power,  as  the  cross.  Stimu- 
lus is  a  necessary  condition  of  active,  created  intelligence.  Great  enterprises 
have  their  birth  and  support  in  great  motives,  and  demand  great  sacrifices. 
Immense  interests  imperiled  impose  intense,  prolonged,  and  perpetual  efforts 
to  save.  Man  lost  becomes  man  redeemed  only  through  the  personal  sacri- 
fice of  Christ.  The  value  of  all  these  interests  must  be  learned  at  the  cross. 
At  the  cross  alone  can  be  formed  an  adequate  conception  of  the  future  moral 
greatness  and  worth  of  this  valley.  The  teeming  millions  that  are  speedily 
to  press  Western  soil  can  scarcely  be  properly  estimated.  Illinois  alone, 
during  the  last  two  decades,  has  added  not  far  from  eight  hundred  thousand 
each  ten  years  to  her  population.  She  is  within  herself  already  a  vast 
empire,  and  her  immense  possibilities  may  well  appal  the  stoutest  Christian 
heart.  The  unparalleled  fertility  of  Western  soil,  our  inexhaustible  mineral 
resources,  the  salubrity  and  healthfulness  of  our  climate,  our  central  position 
on  this  continent,  and  our  rapidly-increasing  facilities  for  national  and  inter- 
national communication,  all  present  unequaled  attractions  to  native  and 
foreigner. 

The  West  is  an  immense  loadstone,  irresistibly  attracting  its  millions  from 
all  parts  of  the  globe.  Already  the  wealth  of  our  churches  is  becoming 
enormous.  Christian  men  must  seek  and  find  channels  of  investment. 
They  do  not  wish,  they  must  not  expect,  to  leave  all  to  dissolute  heirs.  God 
demands  their  wealth.  The  cross  pleadingly  presents  its  arms  to  receive  it. 
The  treasury  of  the  Lord  upon  its  knees  imploringly  asks  it.  It  will  not  be 
withheld.     The  love  of  Christ  will  constrain  its  consecration.     Look  at  the 


6o  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

two  great  central  Western  cities,  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  —  rival  cities,  made 
such  by  the  Deity  —  great  centers  of  commerce,  of  wealth,  of  social  and 
political  and  religious  power,  whose  every  throb  is  felt  to  the  very  extremities 
of  our  national  life.  They  must  be  regenerated.  This  can  only  be  done 
through  the  instrumentality  of  educated  Christian  men;  hence  the  absolute 
necessity  for  the  most  enlarged  and  liberal  provisions  for  intellectual  and 
religious  culture.  Within  a  radius  of  one  hundred  miles  of  each  of  these 
cities,  in  a  brief  period,  will  be  seen  a  population  of  ten  millions.  What 
shall  be  their  character  .'  —  what  their  institutions.''  —  what  their  destiny  ? 
In  all  the  past  the  Baptists  have  been  the  pioneers,  as  thej'  have  been  the 
supporters,  of  civil  and  religious  freedom  —  the  true  democracy  of  earth. 
Shall  they  soon  fling  their  banner  to  the  breeze,  and  inscribe  on  its  folds  — 
'■'■  Freedotn  to  Worship  God?"  Shall  social,  civil,  political,  intellectual, 
religious  freedom  be  the  inalienable  inheritance  of  all,  without  regard  to 
nationality  or  color  or  previous  condition  .'  These  are  great  problems,  whose 
solution  is  in  the  womb  of  the  future.  To  aid  in  their  solution  is  the  mission 
of  cultivated  Christian  men. 

Our  propelling  and  our  enduring  power  must  be  drawn  from  the  cross  of 
Him  "who  though  He  was  rich,  for  our  sakes  became  poor,  that  we  through 
His  povertj' might  be  rich."  Christians  must  more  generally  have  His  spirit 
of  consecration;  then  will  every  want  of  our  higher  institutions  of  learning 
be  supplied. 

A  single  thought,  in  conclusion.  Our  institutions  of  learning  must  be 
regarded  as  the  very  basis  of  the  prosperity  of  every  religious  enterprise ; 
hence  they  must  command  the  first  and  best  energies  of  the  church,  and  the 
largest  consecration  of  property.  Every  department  of  Christian  enterprise 
is  emphatically,  and  without  qualification,  dependent  for  success  upon  men  — 
Christian  men  —  men  of  large  hearts  —  men  of  cultivated  intellects  —men, 
all  of  whose  energies,  influence  and  wealth  are  consecrated  to  the  cross. 
Give  us  earnest,  intelligent,  cultivated,  pious  Christian  pastors,  and  a  corre- 
spondingly devoted,  earnest,  and  thoroughly  disciplined  church,  and  no 
combination  of  the  powers  of  darkness  can  resist  our  aggressions.  Give  us 
men  (and  women,  too)  and  missions,  the  Bible  and  Publication  cause,  and 
the  various  objects  of  Christian  benevolence  shall  have  all  the  means  neces- 
sary to  speedily  fill  the  world  with  the  knowledge  of  a  crucified  and  risen 
Redeemer. 

When  the  Master  founded  His  kingdom  He  chose  not  zvealth,  but  men  — 
men  poor  in  the  goods  of  this  world,  but  rich  in  faith  —  men  to  whom  He 
gave  personal  instruction  for  more  than  three  years,  "  speaking  as  never  man 
spake,"  and  then  sent  them  forth  to  found  an  empire,  governed  by  laws  and 
replenished  with  resources  directly  from  God.  They  founded  a  spiritual 
empire,  destined  to  undermine  and  destroy  every  system  of  oppression  and 
tyranny  on  the  face  of  the  globe,  and  lift  the  nations  up  into  the  freedom  of 
the  sons  of  God  —  into  the  very  sunlight  of  Heaven. 

The  subject  of  the  paper  was  opened  for  discussion. 

Judge  WORDING,  of  South  Carolina,  wished  to  express  his  most 
hearty  concurrence  in  the  sentiments  of  the  paper  just  read,  espe- 
cially the  point  that  the  dependence  of  the  higher  institutions  of  learn- 
ing must  be  upon  the  men  of  liberal  culture  who  have  wealtli.  He 
alluded  to  the  warm  affection  he  had  always  felt  for  the  institution 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  6l 

where  he  had  studied.  He  believed  that  such  experience  ainongthe 
alumni  of  colleges  is  common,  and  that  it  prepares  them  to  feel  an 
interest  in  all  institutions  of  higher  learning.  He  also  gave  his  sup- 
port to  the  view  taken  in  the  paper  that  we  should  sustain  our  own 
institutions;  as  likewise  that  regarding  the  relations  of  the  State  to 
higher  education,  dwelling  especially  upon  the  influences  hostile  to 
evangelical  religion,  which  so  often  are  seen  at  work  in  State  univer- 
sities and  collesres. 

The  paper  upon  Colleges  and  Universities  in  the  West  was  at  this 
point  referred  to  the  committee  to  which  the  subject  belongs.  The 
paper  of  Dr.  Bulkley  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  General  and 

Ministerial  Education. 

Further  remarks  were  made  upon  the  paper  of  Dr.  Bulkley  by 
Rev.  J.  W.  FISH,  Dr.  L.  B.  ALLEN,  and  others. 

The  following  resolution,  offered  by  Dr.  WAYLAND,  was 
adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  in  recommending  the  publication  of  the  papers  presented 
to  this  Convention,  we  do  not  design  to  commit  ourselves  to  all  the  senti- 
ments therein  expressed;  but  that  we  regard  them  as  clear  presentations  of 
the  views  of  their  several  authors  upon  important  subjects  demanding  the 
careful  examination  of  all  our  people. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Delegates  was  read  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Convention,  Rev.  Dr.  Mitchell.  The  report  was 
adopted. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Academies  was  then  read  by  the 
Chairman,  Rev.  RICHARD  M.  NOTT,  of  Illinois: 

REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE   ON  ACADEMIES. 

The  Committee  on  Academies,  to  which  was  referred  the  paper  by  Prof. 
Stearns  on  this  subject,  respectfully  report: 

This  paper  we  regard,  both  in  respect  to  its  line  of  argument  and  its  con- 
clusions, as  not  only  able,  and  of  much  interest,  but  also,  in  the  main,  as 
sound  and  convincing. 

The  question  of  academies  does  not  appear  to  your  Committee  to  be  en- 
tirely free  from  difficulties.  In  different  States,  it  is  probable,  different  cir- 
cumstances exist,  to  such  an  extent  that  no  one  rule  of  policy  on  this  subject 
will  be  found  applicable  unvaryingly  everywhere.  But  certain  principles 
of  quite  general  application  can,  we  think,  be  laid  down. 

The  subject  can  be  most  advantageously  approached,  perhaps,  by  be- 
ginning with  the  college.  The  college  is  recognized  as  a  great  existing  fact. 
Now,  in  order  that  colleges  may  be  maintained,  students  must  attend  them. 
But  it  is  not  a  question  of  maintaining  colleges  for  their  own  sake.  If  the 
•welfare  of  the  community  is  not  highly  promoted  by  their  existence,  let 
them  become  extinct.  But  it  is  of  great  consequence  to  society  that  there 
shall  be  a  class  of  men  who  have  availed  themselves  of  the  most  complete 


62  WESTERN   BAPTIST 

advantages  which  experience  can  devise  or  money  furnish,  for  the  acquisition 
of  the  broadest  and  most  thorough  culture.  For  this  reason,  our  colleges 
and  universities  should  be  kept  filled  with  students. 

In  order  that  these  institutions  may  constantly  and  in  increasing  measure 
be  thus  supplied,  two  things  are  necessary;  one,  that  opportunities  of 
preparation  for  college  shall  be  furnished  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  desire 
them  ;  the  other,  that  a  greater  and  more  general  interest  in  liberal  education 
shall  be  cultivated  among  the  people.  It  is  believed  by  your  Committee 
that  to  secure  these  ends,  in  most,  at  least,  of  our  States,  academies  are  a 
necessity.  They  are  required  as  schools  of  preparation  for  college,  and  as 
secondary  centers  of  scholarly  influence  to  disseminate  a  taste  for  and 
appreciation  of  classical  learning.  Do  the  preparatory  departments  con- 
nected with  many  of  our  colleges  suffice  for  these  ends?  We  think  that  the 
negative  answer  of  Prof.  Stearns  to  this  question  is  well  supported. 

Equally  correct,  in  our  judgment,  is  Prof.  Stearns'  estimate  of  the  fitness 
of  the  High-school  system  to  meet  the  proposed  ends.  If  it  is  found  in  any 
one  of  our  States,  or  in  any  part  of  a  State,  that  the  high-schools  are 
adequate  for  these  important  purposes,  then  academies  will  not,  for  these 
objects,  be  there  needed.  But  is  it  not  ordinarily  the  case  that  unless  the 
principal  of  the  school  is  himself,  not  only  a  liberal!}'  educated  man,  but  a 
sort  of  enthusiast  for  liberal  learning,  positive  encouragement  will  not  be 
furnished  to  any  great  extent  by  the  high -schools  to  the  prosecution  of  studies 
preparatory  to  college  ?  The  prevailing  sentiment  of  the  community  neces- 
sarily directs,  for  the  most  part,  the  plans  of  these  schools.  Ta.x-payers 
often  find  fault  if  they  have  to  pay  to  support,  in  a  public  institution,  a 
a  system  of  advantages  of  which  only  a  very  few  will  be  ever  inclined  to 
avail  themselves.  Though  a  department  of  preparation  for  college  may  be 
tolerated  in  these  schools,  yet  they  can  usually  exert  but  little  influence  to 
mould  the  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  education  furnished  by  colleges. 
But  an  academy,  if  it  is  maintained  at  all,  will  almost  of  necessity  exercise 
such  an  influence.  It  is  rarely  originated  that  it  may  be  an  end  to  itself  as  a 
school,  but  that  it  may  occupy  a  subordinate  relation  to  the  system  of  college 
education.  Professedly,  it  is  to  the  college,  what  the  grammar-school  is  to 
the  high-school.  A  pride  in  the  dignity  of  their  institution  will  of  itself  be  a 
motive  to  the  founders  and  instructors  of  an  academy,  to  keep  the  classes 
which  are  in  course  of  preparation  for  college  as  full  as  they  can. 

Another  consideration  favorable  to  academies  is,  that  they  furnish 
advantages  for  our  agricultural  population,  which  are  not  accessible  to  them 
by  any  other  means.  A  prosperous  academy,  which  is  situated  in  one  of  the 
smaller  cities  of  Illinois,  derives  its  patronage,  not  chiefly  from  the  citizens, 
but  mostly  from  the  thriving  rural  districts  around.  The  sons  and  daughters 
of  the  farmers  have  no  high-schools.  They  can  find  cheap  board  at  the 
academy,  and  enjoy  there  the  finest  privileges  of  study.  Many  a  youth  who, 
after  harvest,  seeks  that  seminary  with  the  intention  of  devoting  a  single 
winter,  perhaps,  to  the  study  of  higher  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy, 
becomes  so  influenced  by  the  literary  atmosphere  of  the  place,  that  he 
quickly  imbibes  a  desire  for  liberal  learning,  and  finds  himself,  after  a 
twelvemonth  or  more,  in  college,  where  he  never  would  have  come,  but  for 
the  impulse  thus  received. 

The  religious  and  denominational  argument  on  the  side  of  academies 
adds  weight  to  these  considerations.  Your  Committee  professes  hearty 
sympathy  with,  and  love  of,  our  public  school  system.  But  it  is  a  fact,  that 
the  public  schools  can  not,  in  a  great  number  of  instances,  be  controlled,  to 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  63 

the  degree  that  appears  desirable,  by  the  spirit  of  religion.  Here,  too,  it  is 
the  governing  sentiment  of  the  community  that  rules,  and  that  sentiment  is 
not  often  in  favor  of  a  very  active  and  prominent  religious  influence  in  these 
schools.  If  parish-schools,  as  a  substitute  —  in  the  hands  of  the  religious 
part  of  the  community  —  for  the  common  schools,  are  not  a  desideratum; 
and  3'our  Committee  thinks  they  are  not;  yet,  why  should  not  a  few  insti- 
tutions, of  the  grade  next  lower  than  colleges,  be  supported  by  Christians, 
in  which  their  youth  may  have  the  benefits  of  a  truly  Christian  training, 
while  pursuing  the  rudiments  of  a  liberal  education?  It  is  eas3',  compar- 
atively, to  secure  a  religious  character  for  an  academy.  Its  founders  have 
only  to  keep  this  steadily  in  view. 

Besides,  this  Educational  Convention  consists  of  Baptists.  It  is  not  with 
the  interests  of  education  in  general,  so  much  as  with  the  interests  of 
education  as  connected  with  our  duties  and  our  prospects  of  growth  as  a 
denomination,  that  we  have  to  do.  The  colleges  which  we  call  upon  the 
denomination  to  favor,  patronize  and  build  up,  are  denominational.  How 
shall  we  maintain  these.?  How  shall  we  supply  them  with  students?  Where 
shall  we  train  the  young  men  who  have  an  inclination  to  prepare  themselves 
for  our  colleges?  How  shall  we  most  efficiently  create  an  influence  which 
shall  not  only  generate  in  the  minds  of  youths  who  are  indifferent,  or 
averse,  to  a  college  education,  an  inclination  towards  that  course  of  study, 
but  which  shall  also  win  them  into  our  colleges?  Do  we  not  need  some 
Baptist  academies  at  important  centers  in  our  different  States?  The  pupil 
is  apt  to  be  influenced  by  his  preceptor  in  his  choice  of  a  college.  It  is  no 
unheard-of  thing  for  Baptist  lads,  in  Pedobaptist  academies,  particularly  if 
converted  there,  to  become  Pedobaptists,  and  even  Pedobaptist  ministers. 
Would  not  Baptist  academies  be  an  important  help  in  the  extension  of 
Baptist  influence,  and  have  some  effect  in  aiding  us  to  reply  practically  to 
the  question.  How  shall  we  keep  the  ranks  of  the  Baptist  ministry  recruited? 

Your  Committee  recognizes  fully  the  need  of  the  soundest  sagacity  and 
most  cautious  discretion  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  business  of  actually 
founding  an  academical  system  in  any  part  of  the  country.  Questions  of 
the  most  appropriate  location,  of  the  probable  means  of  endowment,  of  the 
relation  which  would  be  sustained  to  existing  systems  of  schools,  whether 
public  or  private,  would  have  to  be  wisely,  candidly  and  thoroughly  pon- 
dered. Neither  would  the  Committee  be  in  favor  of  an  attempt  to  multiply 
rapidly  the  number  of  our  academies.  To  aim  at  anything  like  "  an  academy 
in  every  county"  would  be,  indeed,  an  absurdity.  Two  or  tliree  well- 
endowed,  well-manned  institutions  of  this  order  are  infinitely  preferable,  in 
the  largest,  even,  of  the  States,  to  a  dozen  or  more  of  such  schools,  not 
efficiently  provided  for  in  money  and  half-officered.  Let  our  resources, 
wherever  we  begin,  be  concentrated  upon  one  of  these  undertakings.  Let 
one  academy  be  rendered  vigorous,  strong,  solid.  Then,  if  another  is 
needed,  proceed  to  bring  that  into  the  same  condition.  Possibly,  in  some 
States  the  work  would  be  best  begun  if  one  or  two  colleges  sliould  alter 
their  curriculum  of  study  to  an  academical  scale,  and  change  their  titles  to 
correspond  with  facts. 

[The  report  thus  presented,  was  recommitted,  and  afterwards  offered 
again  with  the  following  addition,  and  then  adopted  as  a  whole] 

In  conclusion,  your  Committee  calls  attention  once  more  to  the  remark 
in  the  introductory  part  of  the  report,  that  in  different  States  circumstances 
differ;  and  a  theoretical  argument  in  favor  of  academies,  even  if  sound 
abstractly,   may  be  practically  inapplicable  in  some  regions.     We  add  that 


64  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

in  our  opinion  it  would  be  highly  impolitic  to  attempt  the  establishment  of 
Baptist  academies  in  any  circumstances  in  which  attention  would  thus  be 
diverted  injuriously  from  the  work  of  securing  endowments  for  our 
struggling  colleges  and  theological  seminaries. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

R.  M.  NoTT, 
A.  Owen, 
Geo.  Kline, 
d.  h.  cooley, 
A.  S.  HurcHixs, 
I.  N.  Carman, 
L.  B.  Allen,  D.D. 

The  report  was  accepted,  and  the  question  of  its  adoption  being 
before  the  Convention, 

Dr.  GREGORY,  of  Illinois,  expressed  the  belief  that,  however  it 
may  be  in  the  East,  here  in  the  West  there  is  a  tide  of  public  interest 
and  tendency  which  is  carrying  that  part  of  the  work  of  education 
which  is  intermediate  between  the  common  school  and  the  college 
into  the  hands  of  the  high  schools.  He  expressed  it  as  his  belief 
that  it  is  impracticable  to  establish  throughout  these  States  academies 
which  will  do  efficiently  this  work  of  intermediate  education.  Even 
if  the  academy  is  first  upon  the  ground,  the  high  school  when  it 
comes  supplants  it,  while  if  the  academy  is  founded  where  the  high 
school  already  exists,  it  is  sure  to  fail.  The  academy  is  not  in  accor- 
dance with  the  genius  of  our  people.  Our  strong  and  intelligent  and 
wealthy  citizens  prefer  the  high  school. 

Dr.  SHEPARDSON,  of  Ohio,  dissented  from  the  last  speaker. 
He  instanced  the  case  of  Cincinnati,  in  which  it  is  admitted  that  the 
academical  schools  in  that  city  have  fostered  and  helped  public 
schools.  Why  is  it  that  the  Catholics  can  sustain  ecclesiastical 
schools  of  the  academical  grade,  and  we  not  able  to  do  the  same .'' 
We  are  able. 

Dr.  CUTTING  also  dissented  from  the  view  taken  by  Dr.  Gregory. 
He  desired  to  see  the  high  schools  prosper,  as  well  as  the  State 
universities.  Yet  he  did  not  think  that  the  high  school  necessarily 
supplants  the  academy,  or  tends  that  way.  In  Massachusetts, 
although  the  high  schools  are  highly  prosperous,  there  never  was  a 
time  when  the  academies  were  so  much  so. 

The  report  was  recommitted  with  instructions  to  modify  it  so  as 
that  it  shall  distinguish  between  States  where  academies  are  of  much 
importance  and  those  where  they  are  not  so. 

The  Convention  then  listened  to  a  paper  by  President  KENDALL 
BROOKS,  D.D.,  of  Michigan,  upon  — 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  ^  65 


THE  DUTIES  OF  THE  CHURCHES  WITH  REFERENCE  TO  THE 
PERPETUATION,  INCREASE,  AND  EDUCATION  OF  THE  MIN- 
ISTRY. 

Some  things  may  be  taken  for  granted  in  the  discussion  of  this  subject.  , 

1.  There  must  be  a  ministry.  Christ's  appointment,  no  less  than  the 
demands  of  the  church  and  the  world,  require  that  to  some  men  must  be 
assigned  the  special  duty  of  preaching  the  Gospel  and  serving  as  Christian 
pastors.  While  every  believer  must  exert  his  personal  influence  for  the 
conversion  of  sinners,  and  must  in  many  ways  work  and  sacrifice  for  the 
advancement  of  the  church  and  the  honor  of  Christ,  some  men  must  recog- 
nize it  as  their  vocation  to  preach  Christ,  to  lead  in  every  Christian  enter- 
prise, to  expound  and  maintain  Christian  truth,  to  press  the  claims  of  religion 
on  the  notice  of  men,  in  private  as  well  as  in  public,  —  to  be  Christian  min- 
isters. 

2.  It  may  also  be  assumed  that  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  calls  into 
the  ministry  those  whom  He  intends  for  this  service,  and  that  no  man,  how- 
ever gifted,  however  educated,  however  zealous,  ought  to  take  this  work  upon 
himself  without  the  call  of  God. 

3.  But  it  may  also  be  assumed  that  the  churches,  or  the  Christians  com- 
posing them,  have   some  responsibility  in   reference   to  the  supply  of  min- 
isters; that  those  who  are  called  of  God  to  the  service  sometimes  disregard 
the  call;  that  if  the  church  employs  suitable  means  for  preparing  and  intro- 
ducing into  the  ministry  those   to  whom   the   divine  call   comes,   some  will 
enter  on  the  work  who  would  otherwise  turn  to  other  pursuits,  and  that  the 
number  and  efficiency  of  ministers  will  depend   in   some   measure  on   the 
views  and  efforts  and  energy  of  the  churches  in  reference  to  the  increase  of 
such  laborers.     If  a   body  of  Christians,    however  numerous  and  powerful, 
hold  as  an  essential  doctrine   that   inasmuch  as  God   will   provide  His  own 
ministers,  it  is  an    impertinence  for  men  to  concern  themselves  with  finding 
and  encouraging  and  preparing  candidates  for  the  ministry,  they  will  have 
but  few  ready  to  assume  the  work,  and  these  few  will  be  poorly  equipped  for 
the  warfare.     On  the  other  hand,  if  a  body  of  Christians  feel  specially  called 
on  to  pray  for  an  increase  in  the  number  of  ministers,  to  look  out  from  among 
their  3'oung  men  such  as  give  promise  of  usefulness  in  this  work,  to  encour- 
age them  with  sympathy,  and  to  provide  for  their  preparatory  training,  such 
a  people  will    be  likely  to  find   the   ranks   of  their  ministry  filling  up,   and 
filling  with  efiicient   workers.     More    than    a   generation    ago,  one   of    our 
churches  in  the  city  of  Boston  had  among  its  members  a  greater  number  of 
young  men  preparing  for  the  ministry  than  all  the  other  Baptist  churches  of 
the  city  taken  together.     When  the  question  was    asked    how   this  came  to 
pass,  the  answer  was  readily  given.     The  pastor  had  made  special  efforts  to 
find  such  gifts;  he  had  habitually  prayed  in  public  that  God  would  raise  up 
ministers,  and  would  honor  that  church  as   the    mother  of  many  ministers; 
he  had  accustomed  his  people  to  keep  this  in  view;  he  had  compelled  every 
young  man  in  his  church  to  consider  the  question  of  personal  duty  in   refer- 
ence to   preaching,  and  the  result  was   such  as   might  have   been    expected. 
The  church,  then,  has   some    responsibility  in    reference  to   increasing  the 
number  of  ministers. 

That  responsibility  begins  to  be  met  when  we  begin  to  pray  the  Lord  of 
the  Harvest  to  send  laborers  into  the  harvest.  But  this  is  only  the  begin- 
ning ;  we  fulfill  our  duty  when  we  work  as  well  as  pray. 


66  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

To  discuss  all  our  duty  in  this  matter  during  the  short  time  allotted  to 
this  paper  would  be  impossible.  Let  me  therefore  call  attention  to  one  great 
duty,  the  proper  performance  of  which  implies  or  involves  all  the  rest,  while 
I  suggest  /Ae  kind  of  education  ive  need  to  provide  for  those  who  are. to  he 
the  pastors  of  our  churches  and  preachers  of  the  Gospel.  When  we  clearly 
perceive  what  education  our  ministers  need,  we  shall  of  course  see  our  obli- 
gation to  provide  facilities  for  acquiring  such  an  education,  and  to  aid  in 
supporting  young  men  while  they  are  acquiring  it. 

But  let  us  first  distinctly  recognize  the  truth,  that  there  is  no  one  standard 
of  preparation  to  which  all  must  conform.  While  personal  piety  and  the  call  of 
God  are  essential  for  ever^-  minister,  these  are  the  only  qualifications  that  are 
always,  ami  everywhere,  indispensable.  A  man  in  whom  these  two  are  found 
may  be  a  useful  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  even  if  he  has  no  human  learning 
and  can  not  spell  out  God's  promises  on  the  sacred  page ;  and  from  this  least 
educated  minister,  through  all  the  grades  of  intellectual  attainment  to  the 
most  thoroughly  trained  scholar,  there  are  men  whom  God  honors  with 
success  as  His  servants  in  the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  We  may  expect 
there  will  be  in  all  the  coming  ages,  as  there  have  been  in  all  the  past,  men 
summoned  in  mature  life  from  the  farm  or  the  forge,  from  the  store  or  the 
■workshop,  to  serve  Christ  in  the  pulpit;  and  until  vastly  larger  provision  is 
made  for  training  young  men  for  the  ministry,  we  must  continue  to  pray 
that  the  supply  from  these  sources  continue.  But  do  we  need  any  argument 
to  prove  that  another  class  of  ministers  is  also  required,  and  that  those  whom 
God  calls  in  their  youth  to  make  preparation  for  serving  Him  in  the  pulpit 
are  called  to  a  different  kind  of  preparation  ?  Many  to  whom  the  call  of  God 
comes  while  they  are  young,  disregard  it,  or  fail  to  make  suitable  preparation 
for  the  work.  He  can  supply  the  service  which  these  fail  to  render,  and  fur- 
nish the  supply  in  such  way  as  to  make  it  apparent  that  the  growth  of  His 
kingdom  is  not  wholly  dependent  on  human  learning.  But  this  divine  power 
and  readiness  to  meet  the  deficiency  can  not  affect  the  duty  of  those  who  are 
called  in  youth  to  prepare  for  service  as  preachers  of  Christ  and  teachers  of 
the  churches.  It  can  not  therefore  affect  the  question  of  the  duty  of  the 
Church  in  reference  to  the  education  of  these;  and  it  is  these  whom  I  wish 
now  to  keep  in  mind,  while  I  speak  of  the  kind  of  education  we  ought  to 
provide  for  candidates  for  the  Christian  ministry.  Many  will  enter  the  min- 
istry and  serve  Christ  faithfully  without  this  education.  Many  will  avail 
themselves  in  part  of  this  offered  education.  Many  who  desire  to  obtain  it 
"\vill  fall  short  of  the  full  acquisition.  But  the  question  for  us  is — "What 
kind  of  education  ought  we  to  provide  for  those  whom  God  summons  to  pre- 
pare for  the  great  work  of  preaching  Christ.^" 

I.  I  say  then,  first,  that  we  need  to  provide  an  education  which  includes, 
as  a  primary  element,  merital  discipline.  Ministeis  have  some  work  to  do 
which  none  but  men  of  well-trained  minds  can  efficiently  perform.  They 
are  the  public  defenders  of  the  truth;  they  are  expositors  of  the  Word  of 
God;  they  must  meet  error  in  a  thousand  forms,  and  constantly  in  new 
forms.  It  is  not  enough  for  them  to  have  learned  from  text-books  the  argu- 
ments with  which  unbelievers  of  a  former  age  assailed  the  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  answers  to  those  arguments;  they  must  have  such  power  of 
mind,  acquired  by  rij^id  discipline,  as  will  enable  them  to  meet  new  argu- 
ments, to  see  and  expose  new  errors,  and  to  adapt  themselves  to  all  the  forms 
of  assault  to  which  the  truth  is  exposed.  They  must  be  able  to  investigate 
for  themselves  questions  which  were  not  so  much  as  stated  when  they  were 
in  the  seminary,  and  to  analyze  doctrines  which  had  not  then  been  announced. 


EDUCATIONAL    CONVENTION.  67 

In  resisting  teachers  of  false  doctrine,  and  in  removing  difficulties  which 
trouble  disciples  or  honest  inquirers,  the  minister  needs  clearness  of  percep- 
tion, and  logical  power,  and  readiness  and  vigor  of  intellect — qualities  which 
indeed  imply  original  capacity,  but  which  are  greatly  increased  by  long  and 
laborious  discipline.  The  Divine  Master  showed  His  estimate  of  such  quali- 
fications for  the  ministry  when  he  laid  His  hand  on  the  clear-headed,  logical, 
and  well-trained  Saul  of  Tarsus,  and  made  him  the  chief  champion  of  Chris- 
tianity in  its  first  encounter  with  the  world.  How  could  the  apostle  have 
fulfilled  his  mission  if  he  had  lacked  those  powers  of  mind  which  rigorous 
discipline  develop  ?  How  could  he  have  set  forth  before  the  cavilling  Jews, 
with  unanswerable  argument,  the  claims  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  and  proved 
to  the  wise  men  of  Athens  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity,  so  that  they 
could  not  resist  his  logic  .''  And  in  our  times  a  minister  who  can  not  detect 
fallacies  and  distinguish  between  the  specious  and  the  real,  and  give  a  reason 
for  the  faith  he  holds,  must  often  be  put  to  shame  in  the  presence  of  new 
forms  of  unbelief. 

A  preacher  who  has  been  exhibiting  the  way  of  salvation  through  Christ, 
and  trying  with  an  earnest  zeal  to  persuade  men  to  walk  in  that  way,  when 
he  has  left  the  pulpit,  is  met  by  a  man  whose  conscience  is  somewhat  aroused, 
but  who  excuses  himself  from  being  a  Christian  by  some  objection  he  has 
heard  urged  against  the  divine  authority  of  the  Bible  Such  objections  are 
always  assuming  new  forms,  and  this  assumes  a  form  which  the  preacher  has 
never  met  before.  If  he  can  readily  take  it  to  pieces  and  show  the  error  that 
is  mingled  with  the  truth;  if  he  can  see,  and  cause  his  friend  to  see,  that  it 
is  an  unsound  argument,  depending  for  its  force  on  some  falsehood  tacitly 
assumed  to  be  true,  or  on  some  distortion  of  the  truth,  he  can  tear  away  the 
refuge  of  lies  and  leave  the  man's  conscience  to  feel  the  full  force  of  the 
earnest  appeal.  Oh  !  how  many  a  minister  has  longed  for  that  power,  while 
his  burning  love  for  souls  and  hearty  devotion  to  Christ  have  not  been  able 
to  compensate  for  its  absence,  but  have  only  made  him  feel  his  need  more 
keenly.  How  many  a  minister  has  groaned  bitterly  in  spirit  for  lack  of  that 
power  of  analysis  and  argument  which  the  rigid  discipline  of  the  schools 
would  have  given  him.  In  the  ardor  of  his  youth  he  thought  it  was  only 
necessary  to  tell  men  the  story  of  Christ's  love  and  persuade  them  to  receive  the 
grace  of  God.  Therefore  he  turned  away  from  the  course  of  study  which 
seemed  so  long,  and  hastened  to  assume  his  ordination  vows.  In  his  maturity, 
when  experience  has  proved  his  mistake  and  his  increasing  years  make  the 
mistake  irreparable,  he  does  not  cease  to  regret  that  he  entered  on  this  war- 
fare so  inadequately  equipped  for  the  contlict. 

Ministers  whose  mental  discipline  is  comparatively  small  are  not  useless- 
It  is  a  most  cheering  thought  that  they  labor  in  the  service  of  one  who  can  em- 
ploy the  weakest  means  for  accomplishing  glorious  results,  and  who  has  often 
honored  himself  by  causing  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the 
wise,  and  weak  things  to  confound  the  mighty,  and  base  and  despised  things, 
and  things  that  are  not,  to  bring  to  nought  things  that  are.  But  that  fact 
does  not  encourage  weakness  in  the  pulpit,  any  more  than  it  encourages 
foolishness  in  the  pulpit.  The  most  thoroughly  disciplined  mind  is,  with  all 
its  original  and  acquired  strength,  always  weak  enough  to  illustrate  the  power 
of  God  in  using  it  for  His  glory.  We  need  not  be  alraid  of  taking  from  our 
Lord  the  honor  of  working  through  instruments  which,  without  His  efficiency, 
would  be  utterly  powerless.  It  is  our  part  to  employ  in  His  service  our  noblest 
faculties,  most  fully  developed  and  matured  and  strengthened  for  the  work 


6S  "WESTERN    BAPTIST 

assigned  us.   And  He  will  delight  to  employ  such  powers,  even  as  He  delights 
in  the  consecration  to  himself  of  the  best  affections  and  the  richest  gifts. 

Moreover,  ministers  of  the  Gospel  greatly  need  that  breadth  of  view,  that 
largeness  of  inental  grasp,  that  power  to  rise  above  the  influence  of  preju- 
dice, which  come  naturally  from  generous  mental  discipline.  The  power  to 
see  whatever  of  truth  there  is  in  any  teachings,  however  mingled  with  error, 
and  whatever  of  error  there  is  in  any  system  of  doctrines  which  seems  to 
rest  on  fundamental  truth,  is  a  most  desirable  power  for  a  religious  teacher. 
The  value  of  such  a  power  is  illustrated  in  nearly  all  the  great  leaders  of  the 
Church  from  Paul  to  Dollinger.  It  is  illustrated  in  the  enlarged  influence  of 
many  a  Christian  pastor  who  has  disarmed  opposition  by  his  readiness  to 
acknowledge  truth  wherever  he  has  found  it,  and  to  admire  Christian  char- 
acter exhibited  by  men  who  had  not  learned  all  the  truth  of  Christ.  Now  a 
generous  Christian  charity'  may  dwell  in  one  who  has  enjoyed  no  large 
opportunities  for  mental  discipline.  But  as  it  is  the  tendency  of  such  disci- 
pline to  enlarge  the  mental  powers,  to  increase  the  range  of  vision,  and  to 
lift  above  the  influence  of  prejudice, — ministers  of  the  Gospel,  who  are  ambas- 
sadors of  the  broad-minded  Christ,  may  well  seek,  such  discipline  that  they  may 
more  faithfully  represent  their  glorious  Lord.  The  tendencies  of  human 
nature  are  to  narrowness.  Even  those  men  who  claim  to  be  the  special  cham- 
pions of  free  thought,  and  whose  liberalism  consists  chiefly  in  utter  indifterence 
to  truth,  are  so  narrow  in  their  sympathies  and  fellowship  that  they  seem  to  feel 
supreme  contempt  for  all  who  are  not  of  their  own  narrow  circle,  and  especially 
they  can  not  tolerate  anything  so  definite  and  positive  as  the  teachings  of 
Jesus.  But  if  any  man  can  afford  to  be  broad  in  his  views  and  all-reaching 
in  his  charity,  it  is  the  man  who  knows  that  he  holds  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus;  the  truth  which  will  ultimately  triumph,  as  surely  as  the  kingdom  of 
God  prevails  among  men.  Baptists  are  sometimes  stigmatized  as  narrow- 
minded,  because  they  are  said  to  stand  on  so  narrow  a  platform  as  the  mere 
form  of  an  external  ordinance.  But  inasmuch  as  we  know  that  our  platform 
is  the  broadest  possible  for  Christians — simple  allegiance  to  Christ,  personal, 
all-pervading  allegiance  to  Him  as  our  teacher  and  Lord — we  can  not 
afford  to  be  narrow-minded;  we  are  under  obligations  to  be  broad-minded; 
our  ministers,  the  representatives  of  our  faith  before  the  world,  ought  to 
learn  to  take  broad  views  In  preparing  for  the  ministry  they  may  well  seek 
that  discipline  of  the  mind  which  enlarges  its  grasp,  makes  its  vision  clearer 
and  wider,  and  extends  its  sympathies  to  all  that  is  good  and  true. 

II.  I  pass  on  to  observe,  secondly,  that  we  need  to  provide  for  our  min- 
isters an  education  which  includes  thorough  and  ample  learning.  The 
mental  discipline  which  has  been  urged  may  be  acquired  without  much  learn- 
ing. It  is  rather  the  preparation  for  learning,  and  the  means  by  which 
learning  is  to  be  acquired  through  all  the  years  of  a  man's  life.  He  is  not  a 
well-educated  man,  who  has  simply  learned  whatever  of  science  or  literature 
is  taught  in  the  college  course,  and  thinks  he  needs  to  learn  nothing  more. 
His  time  has  largely  been  spent  in  acquiring  skill  to  use  the  instruments 
which  he  will  need  hereafter  in  the  acquisition  of  learning,  and  in  the 
investigation  of  truth.  But  the  minister,  when  he  enters  on  his  work,  needs 
something  more  than  merely  preparation  for  efficient  study.  He  needs 
learning  in  the  very  beginning  of  his  public  service.  He  announces  himself 
as  an  expounder  of  the  truth  of  God.  His  work.as  a  preacher  is  to  interpret, 
and  exhibit,  and  illustrate,  and  apply  the  word  of  God.  He  needs  to  have 
studied  that  word  carefully,  laboriously,  prayerfully,  with  all  the  best  helps 
at  his  command,  under  the  direction  of  men  who  make  it  their  life-work  to 


EDUCATIONAL    COXVENTION.  69 

shed  light  upon  the  sacred  page.  The  Bible  is  the  guidebook  of  immortal 
souls  in  their  journey  through  this  world.  Shall  any  inan  assume  to  pub- 
lish its  instructions  until  he  has  used  suitable  means  of  assuring  himself  that 
he  reads  them  aright?  Is  there  any  amount  of  learning  which  a  man  may 
not  desire,  if  he  is  to  set  forth  before  his  fellow-immortals  the  plan  of  God 
for  saving  sinners.'  That  plan  is  indeed  so  simple  that  the  unlearned  may 
understand  it,  if  he  desires.  But  the  minister  must  preach  to  those  who  do 
not  desire  to.  He  must  prove  to  the  unwilling  hearer  that  the  Bible  is  a  reve- 
lation from  God.  He  must  demonstrate  the  authoritative  claims  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  teacher  and  Lord.  He  must  prove  the  falseness  of  all  the  systems 
of  belief  which  go  under  the  name  of  Christianity  but  are  destitute  of  its 
essential  characteristics.  He  must  show  what  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  are, 
in  reference  to  the  character  and  condition  of  men,  and  the  way  of  salvation 
for  sinners.  Will  not  learning  help  to  prepare  him  for  these  duties.'  The 
more  thoroughly  he  has  studied  the  languages  in  which  the  Scriptures  were 
written,  the  better  prepared  he  will  be  to  expound  those  Scriptures  and  hunt 
out  the  error  that  has  hidden  itself  in  dark  passages.  The  more  diligently 
he  has  explored  the  Scriptures,  the  more  fully  will  he  be  prepared  to  state, 
and  exhibit,  and  defend  the  doctrines  which  they  teach.  The  more  study  he 
has  expended  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  the  more  confident  will  he  be 
of  the  truth  of  the  Bible,  and  the  more  successful  in  convincing  other  men 
of  its  truth.  The  more  he  has  compared  doctrine  with  doctrine,  and 
examined  each  truth  in  its  relation  to  every  other,  the  more  clear  will  be  his 
conception  of  the  difterent  truths,  and  the  more  s^'mmetrical  and  compact 
the  whole  system  of  Christian  truths  will  appear  to  him;  and  therefore  he 
will  be  able  rightly  to  divide  the  word  of  God,  and  to  exhibit  Christian 
truth  as  complete,  harmonious,  perfectly  adapted  to  the  wants  of  men. 

Our  conception  of  an  efficient,  thoroughly-prepared  minister  of  the 
Gospel  includes,  in  addition  to  all  natural  and  spiritual  qualifications, 
learning,  generous  and  ever-increasing.  And,  for  such  a  man,  no  learning 
can  be  useless  which  will  help  him  in  his  work.  Not  only  the  languages  in 
which  the  Bible  was  written,  but  all  literature,  ancient  and  modern, —  not 
only  theology  as  a  science,  but  all  the  sciences,  unfolding  the  laws  of  God, 
and  showing  the  glory  of  God, —  not  only  the  history  of  the  Church,  but  all 
history,  as  illustrating  the  Providence  of  God  ; — come  within  the  range  of 
the  Christian  scholar's  study,  and  by  them  all  he  may  acquire  new  power  to 
defend  the  truth,  and  convince  men,  and  serve  the  church,  and  glorify  Christ. 

He  can  not  have  all  learning  when  he  begins  to  be  a  minister,  nor  indeed 
ever.  But  the  more  he  has  in  the  beginning,  the  stronger  he  will  be  for  his 
work,  and  the  more  likely  to  make  further  acquisitions.  Every  young  man, 
burning  with  desire  to  be  a  good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  may  well  wish  to 
acquire  learning,  that  he  may  fulfill  more  efficiently  the  ministry*  committed 
to  him.  And  the  more  learning  he  has,  the  more  may  he  delight  to  bring  it 
as  an  offering  to  be  laid  at  the  Master's  feet. 

in.  A  third  essential  element  in  the  education  which  our  ministers  need, 
is  that  culture  by  which  learning  and  mental  power  are  made  most  effective 
in  the  pulpit.  Of  course  culture  comes  in  connection  with  mental  discipline 
and  learning.  These  can  not  exist  without  some  measure  of  it.  But  then 
great  strength  of  intellect  is  not  always  joined  with  those  graces  of  stj'le  and 
that  power  in  speech  which  give  to  a  man  favor  with  the  people.  The  preacher 
must  first  have  something  to  say ;  but  he  must  also  know  how  to  say  it,  and 
have  power  to  say  it.  A  very  learned  man  is  sometimes  an  inefficient  man 
in  the  pulpit,  because  he  can  not  express  his  thoughts  clearly,  freely,  and 


70  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

forcibly.  Many  a  great  man  has  found  himself  less  effective  as  a  preacher 
than  his  brother  of  far  smaller  endowments,  because  the  one  has  facility  of 
expression,  and  a  cultivated  voice,  and  an  attractive  or  impressive  manner, 
while  the  other  delivers  his  great  thoughts  as  if  it  were  no  concern  of  his, 
whether  his  people  feel  their  force,  or  understand  them,  or  even  hear  them. 
A  great  many  preachers  are  criminally  destitute  of  this  element  of  power. 
They  seem  to  think  it  a  sign  of  weakness  to  pay  much  regard  to  the  dress  of 
thought,  or  to  spend  much  time  in  acquiring  an  easy  and  forcible  delivery; 
as  if  anything  could  be  unimportant  which  can  secure  the  atten*^ion  of  men 
to  the  claims  of  God  and  to  their  own  permanent  welfare  and  character.  We 
are  all,  even  the  most  advanced  among  us,  greatly  affected  by  these  things 
in  a  speaker.  It  detracts  from  our  interest  in  his  thoughts  if,  through  lack 
of  effort  on  his  part,  we  are  compelled  to  exert  ourselves  to  hear  the  words 
which  he  ought  to  utter  distinctly.  We  inevitably  suspect  the  validity  of  his 
arguments,  or  the  accuracy  of  his  facts,  if  he  offends  the  ear  with  vicious 
pronunciations,  or  is  careless  and  slovenly  in  his  grammatical  constructions. 
We  are  provoked  to  laughter  by  uncouth  gestures  and  awkward  postures. 
We  do  not  like  to  be  persuaded  by  one  who  vociferates  when  nothing 
demands  a  vehement  utterance,  or  who  pours  forth  such  volumes  of  sound 
as  quite  drown  all  articulate  words.  A  pleasing  voice,  completely  under  the 
control  of  the  speaker;  an  earnest  manner  which  shows  that  the  man  is 
himself  thoroughly  interested  in  what  he  says;  an  easy  movement  which 
makes  the  hearers  feel  that  the  speaker  is  at  home  in  his  work;  appropriate- 
ness of  inflection  and  gesture,  as  far  removed  from  affectation  as  from 
awkwardness;  freedom  from  professional  tone  and  offensive  mannerism; 
directness,  and  clearness,  and  vivacity  of  style;  fulness,  and  force,  and 
beauty  of  illustration;  power  to  awaken  the  sympathy  of  all  who  hear;  — 
these  are  acquisitions  which  no  minister  of  the  Gospel  is  at  liberty  to  hold 
in  light  esteem.  They  are  an  important  part  of  his  preparation  for  his  work. 
To  neglect  them  is  to  be  untrue  to  the  Lord  who  has  called  him  to  preach 
the  Gospel;  it  is  to  be  unfaithful  to  the  immortal  men  to  whom  he  is  com- 
missioned to  speak  in  the  Master's  name. 

This  third  element  in  the  education  our  ministers  need  is  more  likely  to 
be  neglected  than  either  of  the  others,  while  it  is  more  easy  of  acquisition. 
It  is  only  an  outward  thing,  yet,  in  proportion  to  the  time  and  labor  required 
for  securing  it,  is  more  valuable  to  the  minister  than  great  vigor  of  intellect, 
or  large  stores  of  learning. 

What,  then,  is  the  duty  of  our  churches  in  reference  to  the  perpetuation, 
increase,  and  education  of  the  ministry? 

We  answer  briefly : 

I.  To  establish  and  maintain  schools  in  which  our  young  men  may  have 
opportunity  for  the  most  thorough  mental  training; —  not  theological  semi- 
naries alone,  not  colleges  alone,  but  these  in  connection  with  schools  of 
lower  grade.  We  can  not  fulfill  our  duty  in  reference  to  the  future  ministry, 
unless  we  have  institutions  of  learning,  of  all  grades,  of  the  very  best  char- 
acter. The  foundation  must  be  well  laid.  Faithful,  enthusiastic,  thorough 
teachers  must  be  employed  in  the  lowest  schools.  And  here  we  come  again 
upon  the  truth  so  fully  recognized  already,  that  one  of  our  greatest  wants  is 
a  considerable  number  of  preparatory  schools  in  which  the  best  instruction 
may  be  given,  and  the  foundation  be  laid  for  generous  scholarship,  and  large 
growth  in  mental  power.  Mental  discipline  must  be  acquired  mainly  in  the 
academy  and  the  college.  The  theological  school  has  no  time  for  this  work. 
It  receives  young  men  who  are  supposed  to  be  already  well  trained,  in  prepar- 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  7 1 

ation  for  theological  study.  If  they  have  not  had  the  discipline  of  the  col- 
lege, or  such  discipline  acquired  elsewhere,  the  theological  course  must  bring 
far  less  advantage  to  them  than  it  ought  to  bring.  Our  colleges  must  mainly 
furnish  the  discipline  of  our  candidates  for  the  ministry.  Let  the  churches 
see  to  it  that  these  institutions  are  well  sustained,  provided  with  able  and 
enthusiastic  teachers,  and  filled  with  young  men  called  of  God  to  serve  Him 
in  the  ministry. 

2.  Our  second  duty  is  to  make  ample  provision  for  the  acquisition  of 
theological  learning.  For  this  the  theological  seminary  is  demanded.  It 
must  be  planned  on  a  broad  scale;  must  furnish  a  generous  course  of  study ; 
must  have  broad-minded,  earnest,  inspiring,  godly  scholars  for  its  teachers, 
enough  of  them  to  do  the  work  most  thoroughly;  and,  withal,  the  churches 
must  encourage  their  young  men  to  repair  to  it  for  study.  Saying  nothing 
about  other  institutions,  we  have  occasion  to  thank  God,  as  well  as  congratu- 
late ourselves,  that  the  foundations  of  such  a  school  have  been  laid  here, — 
that  men  of  ample  endowments  and  generous  enthusiasm,  growing  riper 
every  year,  have  been  called  into  its  service,  and  have  already  given  proof  of 
their  call  from  God  to  this  work.  Let  the  endowment  be  completed  as  soon 
as  possible.  Let  the  vacant  chairs  be  filled  by  other  men  of  equal  capacity, 
and  attainments,  and  aptness  to  teach.  Let  the  library  be  filled  with  all 
literature  that  can  help  in  the  study  of  the  Bible,  or  in  preparation  for  the 
work  of  a  minister.  Let  this  school  have  our  warmest  sympathy  and  most 
generous  support;  and  year  by  year  it  will  gather  the  young  men  from  our 
colleges,  and  nourishing  them  in  all  theelements  of  ministerial  power  through 
the  three  favored  years  of  their  study  here,  it  will  send  them  forth  in  con- 
secrated companies,  to  preach  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  guide  the  churches, 
to  strengthen  the  faith  of  believers,  to  win  sinners  to  holiness,  and  to  hasten 
the  coming  of  that  blessed  era  when  the  whole  earth  shall  rejoice  in  the 
established  reign  of  Christ. 

3.  A  third  duty  is  that  our  schools  of  learning,  both  colleges  and  semi- 
naries, shall  give  special  attention  to  the  training  of  young  men  for  their 
work  in  the  pulpit.  Every  college,  and  especially  every  theological  school, 
should  make  adequate  provision  for  instruction  in  elocution,  for  training  the 
voice,  and  for  cultivating  all  those  powers  of  rhetoric  and  oratory  by  which 
the  truth  as  uttered  by  the  preacher  is  made  eff"ective  and  irresistible.  What- 
ever else  fails,  this  should  be  provided. 

4.  A  fourth  duty,  resting  on  us  all,  is  to  aid  in  supporting  those  whom 
God  calls  to  prepare  for  the  ministry.  Most  of  them,  by  a  wise  appointment, 
are  poor  men,  that  they  may  better  serve  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich.  They 
need  encouragement,  and  sympathy,  and  money.  Let  our  education  socie- 
ties be  generously  supported,  and  no  young  man  ever  be  allowed  to  suffer 
for  the  comforts  of  life  while  he  is  seeking  preparation  for  the  ministry,  as 
some  have  suffered  who  have  gone  before  him,  and  as  some  perhaps  are  suf- 
fering now.  Every  church,  the  small  as  well  as  the  large,  ought,  once  in 
every  year,  to  make  a  contribution  as  God  has  prospered  it,  for  helping  those 
young  brethren  who  have  turned  away  from  secular  pursuits  to  spend  their 
lives  in  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel. 

These  are  our  duties,  brethren.  They  are  serious  and  weighty,  but  not 
altogether  unwelcome  duties.  Not  reluctantly,  not  as  a  sacrifice,  but  with 
glad  earnestness,  let  us  do  all  this  work,  thanking  God  that  He  permits  us  to 
bear  a  part  in  so  glorious  an  enterprise. 


72  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

Prof.  STEVENS  said  he  had  been  trying  to  work  up  the  Baptists 
of  Oiiio  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  ministry. 

Rev.  F.  A.  DOUGLASS,  of  Ohio,  spoke  at  some  length  upon  the 
necessity  of  sending  out  cultivated  missionaries  to  India. 

Rev.  Dr.  FYFE,  of  Woodstock,  Canada,  spoke  of  the  educational 
interest  in  Canada.  If  the  Baptists  had  as  many  young  men  study- 
ing for  the  ministry  as  Canada  had,  in  proportion  to  their  member- 
ship, there  would  be  5,500  theological  students  in"  the  Baptist 
colleges  of  the  United  States. 

Rev.  J.  C.  C.  CLARKE,  of  Ohio,  made  some  earnest  and  impres- 
sive remarks  upon  the  danger  of  ordaining  men  too  suddenly  fur  the 
ministry. 

The  paper  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Increase  of  the 
Ministry  and  Theological  Education. 

On  motion  of  Rev.  Dr.  CUTTING,  the  following  resolutions  were 
passed. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Convention  are  due  and  are  tendered 
to  the  First  Baptist  Church,  in  Chicago,  for  the  use  of  their  house  of  wor- 
ship, and  to  the  members  of  that  church  and  congregation,  and  to  other 
Christian  friends,  for  the  hospitalities  .of  their  homes. 

Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  Convention  be  printed  under  tiie 
supervision  of  the  Secretary,  with  any  necessary  advice  of  the  Western 
Advisory  Committee  of  the  American  Baptist  Educational  Commission. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Convention  are  due  to  Messrs.  Cliurch 
and  Goodman,  of  Chicago,  for  assuming  the  responsibility  of  the  publishing 
of  the  proceedings,  and  the  pastors  and  other  friends  of  education  are  earn- 
estly desired  to  promote  their  wide  circulation  by  forwarding  orders  for 
copies  to  Messrs.  Church  and  Goodman,  "Standard"  office,  Chicago. 

The  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Academies  reported  further 
an  addition  to  their  report  recognizing  the  different  circumstances 
found  in  different  States,  with  reference  to  the  existing  need  of  acad- 
emies.    The  report  was  ado^Dted. 

Pending  its  adoption,  Rev.  A.  OWEN,  of  Michigan,  spoke  of  it 
as  an  important  element  in  this  question,  that  what  are  now  new 
States  will  in  time  be  old  States,  and  that  what  old  States  have 
learned  to  do,  new  States  will  in  time  reach.  He  believed  that 
academies  will  become  a  necessity  in  States  where  at  present  they 
seem  not  to  be  needed.  He  referred  to  the  work  done  by  academies 
in  some  of  the  older  States,  as  that  of  New  London,  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, as  illustrating  what  an  important  sphere  they  may  be  expected 
one  day  to  fill  in  the  educational  system  of  the  West. 

Rev.  Dr.  L.  B.  ALLEN,  of  Minnessota,  felt  deeply  interested  in 
the  religious    aspect  of  the  question.     He   was   persuaded   that  a 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  73 

proper  consideration  of  this  subject  would  carry  the  Convention  in 
favor  of  academies.  He  referred  to  incidents  in  his  own  experience, 
going  to  show  the  important  influence  exerted  in  academical  schools 
in  this  direction.  Service  of  this  kind  can  not  be  expected  of  high 
schools.  He  alluded  to  anotlier  fact,  that  in  Minnesota  there  is  at 
present  no  school,  whatever,  properly  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Baptists.  Schools  of  the  class  now  considered  may  supply  such  defi- 
ciency in  States  where  colleges  are  as  yet  impracticable. 

The  Convention  adjourned  with  singing,  to  meet  at  2  p.m. 


AFTERNOON   SESSION. 

The  Convention  was  opened  with  prayer  by  Rev.  ALFRED 
OWEN,  of  Michigan. 

The  motion  pending  at  the  adjourntnent  was  one  adopting  the 
report  of  the  Committee  on  Academies. 

Dr.  WAYLAND  moved  that  this  report,  and  all  other  reports  of 
committees,  be  accepted  and  printed  witliout  discussion. 

Dr.  CUTTING  hoped  the  motion  would  not  prevail.  There  are 
important  matters  in  some  of  the  reports  which  ought  to  be  discussed. 
An  adoption  without  the  discussion  would  defeat  some  of  the  objects 
of  this  Convention. 

After  some  further  discussion.  Dr.  WAYLAND  withdrew  his 
motion,  and  the  question  recurred  upon  the  adoption  of  the  report 
of  the  Committee  on  Academies. 

The  report  was  adopted. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Colleges  and  Universities  was 
then  read  by  the  Chairman,  Rev.  A.  N.  ARNOLD,  D.D.,  of  Illinois. 

REPORT   OF   COMMITTEE   ON   COLLEGES   AND   UNIVERSITIES. 

Your  Committee  on  Colleges  and  Universities,  to  whom  the  paper  pre- 
sented last  evening  by  Dr.  J.  A.  Smith  was  referred,  ask  leave  to  present  the 
following  report: 

They  find  that  in  the  portion  of  our  country  which  falls  properly  within  the 
view  of  this  Convention,  the  Baptist  denomination  has  eleven  higher  institu- 
tions of  learning,  bearing  the  name  of  College  or  University.  Of  this  number 
Iowa  has  three,  Illinois  tivo,  and  Michigan,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Missouri,  Kansas, 
and  Wisconsin,  one  each.  Six  of  these  have  fairly  reached  the  rank  of  col- 
leges, namely,  two  in  Illinois,  and  one  in  each  of  the  States  of  Michigan, 
Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Missouri. 


WESTERN    BAPTIST 


The  common  need  of  all  is  a,  large  addition  to  their  endowments;  and 
the  chief  obstacle  to  the  adequate  increase  of  their  endowments  is  not  so 
much  the  poverty  of  our  people  in  the  regions  on  which  they  chiefly  depend 
for  their  support,  nor  the  excess  of  their  number  above  the  real  wants  of  the 
communities  in  which  they  are  located,  as  the  want,  on  the  part  of  our  Bap- 
tist people,  of  a  due  sense  of  the  value  and  need  of  a  higher  education.  The 
importance  of  building  up  these  institutions,  to  the  extent  of  one  in  each 
State,  to  the  stature  of  well-endowed  colleges,  with  a  broad  curriculum  of 
study,  ample  libraries,  and  all  needful  appliances  for  scientific  illustration 
and  investigation,  can  hardly  be  exaggerated.  If,  in  the  newer  and  more 
sparsely  peopled  States,  colleges  can  not  be  brought  up  to  this  high  standard 
at  once,  it  should  be  the  persistent  and  hopeful  aim  of  those  to  whom  their 
management  is  entrusted,  to  advance  them  as  steadily  and  as  speedily  as 
possible  towards  this  goal.  We  say  hapeful,  as  well  as  persistent  aim;  for 
the  hi.«tory  of  the  educational  institutions  of  our  country  has  afforded  many 
signal  examples  to  show  that  the  feeblest  beginnings  of  Christian  faith  may 
grow  into  strong  and  majestic  consummations.  The  duty  of  the  hour,  in  the 
judgment  of  your  Committee,  is  to  give  earnest  attention  to  the  enlargement 
and  improvement  of  our  Colleges^  leaving  the  great  Universities  of  the  future 
to  be  shaped  as  the  wants  and  the  wisdom  of  the  future  may  dictate. 

Your  Committee,  in  closing  their  report,  would  sum  u.p  their  convictions 
in  the  following  resolutions  : 

Resolved,  That  we  express  our  devout  gratitude  to  Almighty  God,  that 
our  denominational  colleges  have  been  to  so  great  an  extent  pervaded  b}- 
Christian  influences,  and  so  often  visited  by  the  converting  grace  of  His 
spirit;  and  that  we  regard  the  continuance  of  this  blessing  as  indispensable 
to  our  highest  denominational  prosperity,  and  to  the  adequate  supply  of  our 
churches  with  an  educated  and  godly  ministry. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  our  duty,   as   Christian   educators  and    as 
Baptists   to  do  what  we  can  to  bring  our  wealthy  laymen  to  a  just  apprecia- 
tion of  the  duty  and  privilege  of  devoting  a  generous  portion  of  their  wealth 
to  the  better  endowment  of  our  denominational  colleges. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

A.  N.  Arnold,    Chairman. 

Dr.  GREGORY  spoke  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  the 
report.  He  had  been  pained  with  the  depressed  condition  of  the 
Baptist  educational  interest  in  the  West.  He  had  been  thinking 
whether  a  crusade  could  not  be  aroused  in  favor  of  these  institutions. 
He  wanted  to  throw  it  out  that  instead  of  going  into  the  field  — 
instead  of  coming  down  to  us  for  one  institution  —  come  down  with 
all  the  power  that  can  be  derived  from  a  general  consideration  of 
Baptist  Educational  interests.  He  believed  a  movement  could  be 
inaugurated  here  to-day  which  would  give  to  the  aid  of  Baptist 
institutions  from  one  million  to  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars.  He 
would  have  an  appeal  in  Christ's  name,  an  appeal  to  the  Christians 
of  the  Northwest,  go  out  among  the  people  in  aid  of  this  work,  that 
such  men  as  Dr.  Burroughs  and  Dr.  Wayland  might  be  relieved 
from  a  work  which  is  crushing  them.  Let  us  all  bear  it — or,  at 
least,  our  portion  of  it. 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  75 

Dr.  STONE  deprecated  the  practice  of  decrying  the  number  of 
colleges  now  in  existence.  Though  there  might  be  some  weak  ones, 
yet  we  have  none  too  many.  The  only  foult  is,  we  do  not  sustain 
them  as  we  ought,  or  as  we  might.  He  proceeded  at  some  length 
to  show  that  our  colleges  are  mostly  local  institutions. 

Rev.  LUTHER  STONE,  of  Chicago,  followed  the  same  line  of 
thought,  and  gave  carefully  prepared  statistics,  which  abundantly 
proved  his  positions.  And,  in  this  respect,  our  denominational  insti- 
tutions are  not  singular. 

Rev.  A.  OWEN,  of  Michigan,  did  not  coincide  with  the  idea  that 
we  should  have  a  college  in  every  State.  He  hoped  that  this  Con- 
vention wouid  take  no  steps  to  set  our  brethren  in  the  new  States 
about  any  such  business.  They  had  had  an  experience  in  Michigan 
which  they  would  not  like  to  repeat.  In  regard  to  those  ah-eady 
established,  he  would  be  the  last  one  to  tear  them  down. 

Prof.  MITCHELL,  of  Chicago,  said  that  the  clause  in  the  report 
which  Bro.  Owen  opposes,  was  one  wliich  he  approved,  but  with  a 
diflerent  interpretation.  He  thought  the  recommendation  to  mean 
that  they  should  have  one  college  for  every  State,  as  a  maximum, 
and  not  have  two  or  three.  He  did  not  understand  either  that  it  was 
proposed  to  go  about  the  establishment  of  these  colleges  at  once. 
Prof.  Mitchell  described  the  policy  which  had  been  pursued  by  the 
Congregationalists,  and  hoped  we  might  improve  them. 

Rev.  J.  T.  WESTOVER  was  emphatically  in  fixvor  of  the  senti- 
ments of  the  report  presented  by  Dr.  Arnold.  He  gave  at  some 
length  the  reasons  for  having  one  college  in  each  State.  He  thought 
the  theory  of  the  paper  read  last  night  very  beautiful,  but  impracti- 
cable and  inapplicable  in  practice.  He  therefore  decidedly  approved 
of  the  plan  of  one  college  to  a  State,  so  far  as  the  West  was  con- 
cerned. 

The  report  was  adopted.  "Tx 

The  Convention  then  listened  to  a  paper  by  Rev.  J.  V.  SCHO- 
FIELD,  of  Iowa,  upon 

THE  CARE  OF  EDUCATION,  AS  PART  OF  PASTORAL  DUTY; 
WITH  THE  BEARING  OF  A  GENERAL  AND  EFFECTIVE 
MOVEMENT  IN  EDUCATION  ON  THE  CHARACTER,  PROG- 
RESS, AND  USEFULNESS  OF  THE  DENOMINATION. 

In  Germany,  the  pastor  is  designated  as  "  He  who  has  the  care  of  souls." 
This  designation  implies  a  care  in  education. 

The  pastor  brings  souls  to  Christ  by  teaching  them  the  gospel,  and  leads 
them  to  fullness  in  Christ  by  continued  and  more  complete  instruction. 

The  derivation  of  his  official  title  imposes  upon  him  the  duty  to  guide,  to 


76  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

nourish.  He  does  this  by  religious  teaching,  and  by  guiding  the  disciples, 
the  flock,  into  spiritual  pastures  (Eph.  iv,  11).  So  understood  the  Apostle 
when  he  wrote,  "  To  some  he  gave  pastors  and  teachers."  The  best  expos- 
itors are  agreed  that  both  words  refer  to  the  one  office  of  pastor.  The  com- 
mission makes  the  pastor  pre-eminently  a  teacher.  He  is  first  to  teach,  then 
baptize.  He  is  more  a  Samuel  than  an  Aaron.  Thus  religious  education 
becomes  a  necessary  pai  t  of  pastoral  duty. 

Vinet  says,  "  Christianity  is  a  thought  of  God,  which  is  destined  to 
become  a  thought  of  man."  If  so,  pastor  and  people  must  understand  the 
word,  and  teach  it.  Piety  being  equal,  educated  minds  can  best  instruct  others 
in  religion.  The  colleges  of  our  country  are  the  best  schools  to  give  a  com- 
plete education.  Their  course  of  stud}'  is  founded  upon  the  progressive  expe- 
rience of  centuries  in  teaching.  Institutions  of  learning,  then,  of  all  grades, 
and  especially  colleges  and  theological  seminaries,  are  necessarily  included 
in  a  pastor's  care. 

He  need  not  shrink  from  this  work  because  of  skeptical  tendencies  in 
schools  of  learning.  Ignorance  produces  more  infidelity  than  learning. 
The  majority  of  our  colleges  were  founded  by  Christian  people,  and  nearly 
all  their  teachers  gladly  learn  of  Christ. 

Teachers  and  pastors  like  Wicklifte,  Tyndale,  Calvin,  Robert  Hall,  Wes- 
ley, Edwards  and  Dwight,  have  exhibited  a  beautiful  blending  of  growth  in 
learning  with  growth  in  piety. 

Prof.  Tyler  says,  "  More  are  converted  in  colleges,  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  unconverted  when  they  enter,  than  in  any  community  or  State. 
Eightj'-eight  ministers,  who  are  pre-eminent  in  the  Church  as  pastors,  pro- 
fessors and  presidents  of  colleges,  from  .lohn  Robinson,  the  leader  of  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers  in  1592,  down  to  Edwards,  Dwight  and  Alexander,  were 
converted  in  colleges." 

Pastors  may  look  upon  learning,  in  connection  with  faith,  in  hope  or  in 
fear,  but  they  can  not  safely  be  negligent  of  it.  Schools  of  learning  are 
bound  to  exist,  and  if  Christian  men  do  not  establish  and  control  them,  and 
keep  them  consecrated  to  Christian  purposes,  irreligious  men  will  found 
them  and  control  them  in  the  interest  of  infidelity.  The  educational  power 
of  a  country  is  the  dominant  power,  and  Christians  should  wield  it  for 
good  government,  industry,  morals  and  Christianity.  If  this  is  to  be  done, 
pastors  must  share  in  the  work,  yea,  lead  in  the  work. 

Pastors,  in  their  direct  wot  k  in  saving  souls  and  leading  them  to  a  higher 
life  in  Christ,  find  peculiar  aid  in  promoting  i/ie  evangelical  spirit.  That 
spirit  is  a  great  need  in  schools  of  learning.  When  it  is  wanting,  they 
become  scholastic  and  corrupt.  It  depends  greatly  upon  pastors  to  preserve 
that  spirit.  When  in  the  dark  ages  they  lost  it,  and  became  corrupt,  the 
colleges  and  monasteries  shared  the  same  fate.  Pure  gospel  in  teachers  and 
pastors  will  preserve  pure  learning.  When  Wicklifte,  Luther,  Calvin,  and 
all  the  reformers,  brought  back  a  pure  gospel,  they  revived  and  purified  the 
systems  of  education. 

Luther  and  Calvin  saw  that  the  Reformation  could  not  be  advanced  with- 
out good  schools.  Luther  established  a  system  of  public  schools  which 
lasted  for  a  hundred  years  in  Germany,  and  Bancroft  says,  "  We  boast  of  our 
common  schools,  but  Calvin  was  the  father  of  popular  education,  and  the 
inventor  of  the  system  of  free  schools."  Thanks  to  him,  then,  the  Puritan 
pastors  caught  the  spirit  that  secured  a  teacher  for  every  fifty  families,  and  a 
grammar  school  for  every  hundred.  It  was  no  doubt  from  his  example  in 
founding  a  college  with  eight  professors,  for  the  education  of  young  men  to 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  77 

preach  the  Gospel,  that  the  New  England  pastors,  only  eight  years  after 
their  landing,  founded  Harvard  College.  Those  early  pastors,  Cotton, 
Hooker  and  Elliot  were  scholars  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  The  ten  pastors 
who  founded  Yale  College  in  1700,  partook  of  their  spirit,  and  these  men 
gave  permanency  and  character  to  religion  and  learning  in  the  Colonies. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  fully  what  power  and  influence  pastors  gave 
to  education  in  the  New  England  Colonies,  and  by  it  to  Christianity. 

But  they  furnish  marked  examples  for  pastors  now,  and  in  the  future. 

Hoiv  can  the  j>astor  best  perform  his  duty  in  educatioii? 

The  apostolic  injunction,  "  Let  them  learn  first  to  show  piety  at  home," 
serves  as  a  rule  for  education  in  the  family.  Here  the  pastor's  work  should 
begin.  I  am  now  speaking  of  Bishops  who  are  husbands  and  fathers.  The 
exceptions  are  not  worthy  of  notice. 

The  pastor  should  care  for  the  education  of  his  children,  and  superintend 
it  with  the  vigilance  of  a  good  teacher;  and  so  set  an  example  in  his  own 
family  which  will  inspire  other  families  to  seek  education  for  their  chil- 
dren. Thus  he  will  become  the  means  of  elevating  the  standard  of  edu- 
cation in  the  Church  and  in  the  community.  Thei'e  are  memorable  examples 
of  pastoral  fidelity  in  home  teaching.  The  father  of  Jonathan  Edwards 
was  a  Hebrew  and  Greek  scholar,  and  he  took  great  pains  to  train  his  son 
to  habits  of  study  and  analysis.  The  father  of  Dr.  Ryland,  an  eminent  Bap- 
tist clergyman  of  England,  put  into  his  son's  hand  a  Hebrew  grammar 
before  he  was  five  years  old;  and  when  yet  but  a  child,  he  read  to  the  pious 
James  Hervey  the  twenty-third  Psalm  in  Hebrew.  In  his  visits,  the  pastor 
must  not  regard  suggestions  as  to  the  best  mode  of  directing  the  child's 
early  education,  as  out  of  his  sphere.  Such  guidance  will  aid  in  religious 
culture,  will  encourage  parents  in  their  toil  and  care  for  their  children,  and 
will  stimulate  the  children  in  study. 

In  new  portions  of  our  country,  the  pastor  can  render  great  aid  in  estab- 
lishing common  schools,  select  schools  and  academies.  He  can  exert  an 
influence  in  securing  good  teachers,  and  if  possible,  Christian  teachers. 

Where  schools  are  established,  the  pastor  should  visit  them,  speak  in 
them,  give  honor  to  the  teacher's  calling,  inspire  the  children  with  a  love  for 
study,  and  show  them  that  perfect  character  is  attained  by  a  union  of  learn- 
ing and  religion.  He  should  be  willing  to  serve  on  boards  of  education  and 
examining  committees,  to  aid  parents  in  choosing  schools  for  their  children, 
to  direct  them  to  those  of  their  own  denomination,  and  to  prevent  them,  if 
possible,  from  sending  their  children  to  Catholic  schools.  Pastors  should 
visit  the  colleges  of  their  denomination,  when  they  are  near,  in  term  time 
and  at  examinations.  Such  visits  will  remind  the  students  that  there  is  a 
vital  relation  between  the  colleges  and  the  churches,  between  learning  and 
religion,  and  will  also  cheer  the  professors  in  their  work.  A  head  officer  in 
one  of  our  leading  Eastern  colleges  complains  of  a  lack  on  the  part  of  pas- 
tors in  this  duty.  None  come  to  see  whether  their  work  is  well  or  ill  done. 
He  feels  deserted  by  his  brethren,  and  wishes  our  pastors  would  take  lessons 
from  other  denominations.  Pastors  should  also  seek  out  and  encourage 
young  men  to  study  for  the  ministry. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  pastor  to  remember  our  colleges  and  seminaries,  and 
all  schools  of  learning,  in  prayer,  in  his  family,  and  in  the  pulpit.  Such  a 
remembrance  renders  institutions  of  learning  in  a  manner  sacred.  In  his 
sermons  learning  should  be  frequently  commended  as  needful  for  all,  and  not 
simply  for  ministers,  as  though  all  the  demand  for  educational  force  in  the 
Church  were  confined  to  the  pulpit.   The  churches  need  educated  laymen  and 


78  WESTERN    BAPTIST 

women.  Such  persons  aid  the  pastor  and  the  Sabbath-school ;  and  learning 
thus  consecrated  to  Christ  gives  character  and  enlarged  influence  to  the 
Church. 

Pastors  are  liable  to  fail  in  this.  Says  Presideint  Anderson  :  "  I  have  heard 
sermons  on  the  need  of  an  educated  ministry,  but  never  heard  a  pastor  in 
his  own  pulpit  plead  for  an  educated  membership.  Yet  our  churches  are 
sufiering  for  want  of  this.  Our  people  have  little  idea  of  the  need  of  an 
educated  membership,  beyond  the  standard  of  the  common  school."  The 
pastor  should  have  a  care  for  teachers'  meetings;  prepare  them  for,  and  be 
present  at  them.  By  this  means  he  will  educate  the  whole  Sabbath-school  in 
the  Scriptures. 

He  should  recommend  a  religious  paper.  Luther  Rice  connected  with  for- 
eign missions  Columbian  College  and  the  "Columbian  Star"  as  necessary 
means  of  their  success.  Does  not  this  meeting,  and  do  not  these  reporters 
of  the  press,  confirm  his  views.? 

The  pastor's  care  should  be  to  organize  and  sustain  educational  societies, 
the  precursors  of  our  colleges,  and  seek  for  them  a  partial  support  in  endow- 
ment. The  American  Education  Society  has  a  fund  of  seventy-three  thousand 
dollars.  The  endowment  of  colleges  and  theological  seminaries  should  be  a 
part  of  his  care.  He  would  do  well  to  remind  his  rich  members  of  John 
Harvard,  who  bequeathed  half  his  property  and  all  his  library  to  Harvard 
College;  of  Nicholas  Brown,  whose  name  will  be  perpetuated  in  Brown  Uni- 
versity; of  Vassar,  Shurtleff,  Wm.  Jewell  and  Samuel  Payne;  of  Hamilton 
and  John  P.  Crozer. 

It  is  a  part  of  the  pastor's  duty  to  explain  to  his  people  the  dependence  of 
our  government  upon  the  educated  nien  of  our  colleges  in  framing  constitu- 
tions and  laws,  in  advancing  the  mechanical  arts,  in  improving  our  common 
schools  and  academies.  For  these  last  the  colleges  furnish  for  the  most  part 
the  teachers  and  the  text  books.  But  chiefly  should  he  show  the  dependence 
of  Christianity  upon  them  for  educated,  pious  laymen  and  ministers. 

It  is  for  the  pastors  to  disabuse  the  minds  of  their  people  of  the  idea  that 
colleges  are  merely  secular  institutions  for  the  promotion  of  an  educated 
aristocracy.  In  truth  they  are  Christian  schools,  and  were  founded  for 
Christianity.  "  Pro  Christo  et  Ecclesia"  the  motto  .of  Harvard,  is  in  spirit 
that  of  all  our  colleges.  The  ten  pastors  who  founded  Yale  are  an  example 
of  the  origin  of  our  American  institutions  of  learning. 

The  colleges  of  New  England  were  born  of  the  churches;  and  many  of 
their  pastors  were  born,  both  intellectually  and  spiritually,  of  the  collegi:s. 
"  Churches  and  colleges,"  says  Professor  Tyler,  "  sustain  the  relation  to  each 
other  of  alternate  fountain  and  stream."  If  they  are  to  continue  in  this  effi- 
cient, refreshing  relation  pastors  must  bear  an  indispensable  part  in  securing 
this  beneficent  result.  Dr.  Dwight  once  remarked  to  a  pastor,  that  "the 
man  who  would  show  to  common  minds  the  connection  between  colleges  and 
the  interests  of  the  Church  would  be  a  benefactor  to  his  species."  One  com- 
petent to  judge  says  :  "We  behold  in  Dr.  Dwight  the  very  demonstration 
which  he  asked.  He  corroborated  revelation  by  the  light  of  nature  and  reason, 
and  at  the  same  time  brought  it  to  the  apprehension  of  the  common  mind. 
He  transformed  Yale  from  a  nursery  of  infidelity  into  a  Christian  school." 

It  is  for  the  pastor  to  maintain  such  a  relation  between  colleges  and 
churches  that  both  shall  unite  in  echoing  the  sentiment  of  Dr.  Witherspoon, 
the  scholar  of  Edinburgh,  the  President  of  Jersey  College,  the  leading  mem- 
ber of  our  first  Congress  —  "  Cursed  be  all  that  learning  that  is  cotttraty  to 
the  cross  of  Christ;  cursed  be  all   that  learning  that  is  not  coincident  yi'ith 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  79 

the  cross  of  Christ;  cursed  be  all  that  learning  that  is  not  subservient  to  the 
cross  of  Christ." 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  pastor  to  educate  the  church  to  observe  the  last 
Thursday  in  February  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  for  colleges.  Unless 
the  pastor  sees  to  this  it  will  not  be  done.  He  has  historical  encouragement 
tp  do  this.  The  converting  Spirit  has  been  granted  from  its  first  observance. 
In  thirty-six  different  colleges  fifteen  hundred  were  converted  in  fifteen 
years.  Revivals  have  averaged  once  in  four  years  since  the  observance  of 
that  day. 

As  to  the  bearing  of  pastoral  care  in  education,  upon  a  general,  effective, 
denominational  moTiement'\n  education,  one  church  educated  by  its  pastor  to 
a  correct  view  of  the  relation  of  colleges  and  churches,  of  learning  and 
religion,  would  be  a  great  power  for  good.  The  same  result  effected  by  ten 
thousand  pastors  in  seventeen  thousand  Baptist  churches,  with  a  million  and 
four  hundred  thousand  members,  would  be  a  far  mightier  power;  a  rapid 
and  general  advancement  would  thus  be  made  in  our  denominational  charac- 
ter and  influence. 

Editors,  professors,  and  presidents  of  colleges  must  do  much  in  this 
movement;  but  it  can  not  become  general  and  efl[icient  without  the  active 
co-operation  of  pastors  in  the  work.  The  people  are  not  self-moved  to  great 
refonns  and  upward  progress.  It  is  the  work  of  educated  men  to  enlist  and 
lead  them  in  such  enterprise.  By  Tyndale's  talent  and  learning  the  Chris- 
tian people  of  his  time  were  brought  to  read  and  love  the  Bible.  Luther  and 
Calvin  taught  their  followers  to  cling  to  justification  by  faith.  Rog(;r  Wil- 
liams inspired  his  adlierents  with  the  love  of  soul-liberty,  and  with  the  reso- 
lution to  retain  and  diffuse  it. 

Pastors,  by  their  near  connection  and  sympathy  with  the  churches,  and 
by  their  ability  to  see  the  true  relation  between  churches  and  schools  of 
learning,  are  peculiarly  fitted  to  create  a  general  and  deep  interest  in  educa- 
tion. In  all  the  history  of  the  Church,  education  has  declined  or  prospered 
according  to  the  corruption  and  ignorance,  or  to  the  purity  and  intelligence 
of  the  pastors.  A  pure,  evangelical  spirit  in  the  teachers  of  schools  and 
the  pastors  of  the  churches  secures  alike  the  interests  of  piety  and  learning. 
The  revival  of  this  gospel  purity  in  pastors  and  teachers  has  ever  been  fol- 
lowed by  the  revival  of  pure  learning  in  colleges,  and  by  the  establishment 
of  public  schools  among  the  people. 

Franke,  of  Germany,  the  pious  pastor 'of  Erfurt,  the  Dwight  of  Halle, 
the  founder  of  the  pietistic  school,  which  numbered  at  one  time  five  thousand 
students  and  one  hundred  teachers,  is  a  representative  of  man}'  pastors 
within  the  last  five  hundred  years. 

Professor  Schmidt,  in  his  "  History  of  Education,"  says  :  "The  lack  of 
an  evangelical  spirit  in  the  pastors,  and  their  want  of  interest  in  the  schools, 
retarded  education  in  the  last  part  of  the  eighteenth  century."  It  was  then 
that  the  godless  sentiment  of  Rousseau  obtained  currency  —  "Let  not  the 
rising  generation  hear  a  word  about  God.'i  It  was  then  that  some  educators 
said  —  "Bring  forth  everything  out  of  the  idea,  out  of  thyself,  the  world, 
the  commonwealth,  even  the  Deity." 

It  is  the  work  of  pastors  to  counteract  this  theory  of  education,  and  to 
maintain  and  exemplify  the  dependence  of  pure,  practical  education  upon  a 
pure  gospel.  It  is  their  pre-eminent  work  in  the  sphere  of  education,  to  form 
such  a  union  of  life  and  sympathy  between  the  churches  and  the  schools  as 
will  infuse  a  Christian  spirit  into  the  latter  and  a  Christian  intelligence  in 
the  former.     When  all  pastors  and  churches  hold  such  a  relation  to  schools, 


8o  WESTERN   BAPTIST 

there  will  be  a  progressive  and  general  movement  in  education,  toward  the 
perfect  goal  of  thorough. learning,  for  the  profit  alike  of  science,  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  of  Christianity. 

As  to  the  bearing  of  pastoral  care  in  education  upon  our  denominational 
character,  it  is  obvious  to  remark  that  the  conditions  of  individual  character 
apply  to  communities  and  nations,  to  churches  and  denominations  of  Chris- 
tians. In  the  individual  Christian,  good  talent,  learning  and  piety  constitute 
superior  character.  The  greatest  of  the  three  is  piety  —  the  ground-work  of  all. 
Moses, Daniel  and  Paul,  are  marked  charactersofthe/^reequalities  combined. 
A  denomination  of  Christians  with  average  natural  ability,  united  with  learn- 
ing and  piety,  will  take  character  alongside  the  individual  of  like  qualities. 
As  individual  piety  is  circumscribed  in  influence  when  associated  with  igno- 
rance, so  is  it  in  churches  and  Christian  bodies. 

Christ  is  a  prophet  no  less  than  a  priest.  Denominations  obtain  charac- 
ter through  the  talent  and  learning  of  their  leaders.  We  can  trace  one  to 
Calvin,  another  to  Luther,  one  to  Cranmer,  another  to  John  Cottorr,  and 
another  to  John  Wesley.  The  names  of  Gill,  Robert  Hall,  Carson,  Fuller, 
Staughton,  Broadus,  Wayland,  with  living  scholars  whose  names  are  quoted 
by  pedo-Baptist  writers  as  authorities  in  Bible  translation  and  exegesis,  give 
honor  to  the  Baptist  denomination  in  the  sphere  of  learning.  But  where  did 
those  men  of  history,  who  have  given  name  and  honor  to  their  denomina- 
tions, with  the  exception  of  the  Baptists  of  Waldensian  antiquity,  get  their 
characteristic  stamp.?  As  Clement  and  Origen  received  theirs  in  the  first 
Christian  school  of  Alexandria,  in  the  second  century,  so  Jerome,  Wicklifte, 
Erasmus,  and  Tyndale,  obtained  theirs  at  the  universities  of  England  and 
Germany,  Luther  at  Erfurt,  Calvin  at  Paris,  Cotton,  Cranmer  and  Wesley 
at  Cambridge;  Gill  —  being  a  heretic — was  not  admitted  to  the  schools  of 
the  Established  Church,  but  obtained  his  title  from  them  by  self-culture.  Hall 
studied  at  Bristol  and  Aberdeen,  by  favor  of  Lord  Coke;  Roger  Williams 
at  Cambridge,  Staughton  at  Bristol.  History  tells  us  that  denominations 
receive  their  origin  from  the  learning  and  p'iety  of  their  leaders,  and  these 
leaders  derive  their  power  of  intellect  and  learning  from  the  colleges.  Self- 
educated  men,  says  a  learned  teacher,  are  half-educated  ;  it  is  the  college  that 
gives  fullness  of  character.  In  proportion  as  such  men  become  numerous 
among  the  ministry  of  a  denomination,  will  the  entire  denomination  have 
character  for  intelligence  and  learning. 

As  to  the  bearing  of  pastoral  care  in  education  upon  denominational 
progress,  if  there  is  any  truth  in  the  proverb,  "  Knowledge  is  power,"  it  fol- 
lows that  education  is  a  power  for  denominational  progress.  W^ithout  it, 
Congregationalists  and  Presbyterians  would  not  stand  among  the  first  in 
influence.  May  we  not  trace  their  prosperity  to  the  fact  that  they  have 
founded  the  majority  of  colleges  and  theological  seminaries  in  our  country  .-• 
Education  does  not  necessarily  result  in  a  rapid  increase  of  the  numbers  of 
a  denomination,  but  education  does  give  it  permanent  and  pre-eminent  char- 
acter. According  to  Dr.  Brooks' estimate,  for  fifty  years  previous  to  1S64,  of 
five  leading  bodies  of  Christians,  the  Baptists  stand  second  in  numerical 
progress,  the  Methodists  being  first.  It  is  true  that  neither  have  been  lead- 
ers in  education.  But  had  they  not  become  enlisted  in  education  they  would 
not  have  made  so  rapid  progress,  nor  would  they  give  such  promise  for  the 
future. 

The  Baptists  of  America,  from  1775  to  1855,  increased  from  380  churches 
to  14,070;  from  350  ministers  to  9,476;  from  65,000  members  to  1.322,469. 
Like  our  country,  they  have  doubled  in  numbers  every  twenty  years.     It 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  8 1 

has  been  estimated  that  the  same  rate  of  increase  in  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
six  years,  would  find  every  adult  member  of  our  race,  old  enough  for  church 
membership,  in  the  Baptist  denomination,  even  if  the  population  of  the 
globe  should  be  multiplied  four-fold. 

This  progress  in  the  past  fifty  years  can  not  be  separated  from  a  new  and 
progressive  movement  in  the  cause  of  education.  It  has  been  an  indispensa- 
ble aid. 

The  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  thirty-three  languages,  and  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  in  all  these  tongues,  have  been  effected  by  fifteen 
men  of  our  denomination,  educated  in  twenty-two  colleges  and  five  theo- 
logical seminaries.  Of  our  foreign  missionaries,  nine  were  educated  at 
Rochester,  thirty-seven  at  Newton,  and  forty-seven  at  Hamilton.  These 
men,  with  an  equal  number  of  educated  women,  have  sent  forth  203.382,898 
pages  of  printed  truth,  79,356,784  pages  of  Scripture,  and  led  thirty-five 
thousand  heathen  souls  to  Christ.     (See  Dr.  Smith's  Jubilee  Report  ) 

In  regard  to  the  rapid  progress  of  our  denomination  in  our  own  country, 
let  us  keep  in  mind  that  seventy-five  years  ago  we  had  only  Brown  Univer- 
sity, but  now  fifteen  colleges;  then  no  theological  seminary,  now  six  of  high 
character,  besides  six  schools  for  the  colored  people;  but  few  educated  men, 
yet  within  the  last  fifty  years  more  than  three  thousand  graduates  from  the 
colleges  of  the  North  alone  have  entered  the  Baptist  ministry. 

With  our  present  position  in  education,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  Christianity,  with  a  free  field,  neither  trammeled  by  the  civil  govern- 
ment nor  persecuted  by  other  Christian  sects  —  Baptists  have  a  mission  vast 
and  glorious.  May  they  have  faith,  knowledge  and  spirit  to  seize  upon  the 
opportunity  for  civilization  and  education  for  Christ  and  His  Gospel. 

We,  as  pastors,  have  noble  examples  before  us  in  the  Puritan  pastors  of 
New  England;  in  their  successors,  who  are  following  the  star  of  empire, 
and  have  already  established  schools  west  of  Iowa,  and  on  the  Pacific  coast; 
and  to  be  more  specific,  in  Dr.  Elliot,  the  apostle  of  Unitarianism  in  the 
West,  who  has  lived  in  St  Louis  thirty  years,  and  founded  Washington  Uni- 
/versity,  with  an  endowment  of  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  whose 
name  will  be  perpetually  associated  with  the  destiny  of  that  grand  city  by 
the  Elliot  Public  School  for  girls. 

We  are  also  inspired  to  duty  by  the  venerable  Baptist  fathers,  Stilln^an, 
Bowles,  Manning,  Sharp,  Furman  and  Staughton. 

We  find  the  true  key  to  success  in  evangelization  in  the  example  of  Luther 
Rice,  in  whose  mind  missions,  a  college,  and  a  periodical  were  kindred  and 
inseparable  interests.  Hence  he  established  Columbian  College  and  the 
"  Columbian  Star."  Baptist  pastors  have  done  much  for  education  in  their 
families  and  in  founding  schools.  Forty-two  of  their  sons  have  graduated 
at  Rochester  during  her  twenty  years'  history.  The  schools  of  Iowa  and 
Missouri  have  been  established  by  them.  The  same  is  true  in  other  States. 
Some  of  them  are  bright  examples  in  this  city,  one  of  whom  has  gone  over 
the  sea  to  recruit  his  exhausted  energies,  and  writes  me,  "I  have  given  a 
thousand  dollars,  and  my  church  has  given  forty  thousand,  for  the  cause  of 
education  at  Chicago,  and  I  know  the  burden  of  these  interests  on  the  brain 
and  heart  are  exhausting." 

The  forces  which  formed  an  era  in  our  progress  fifty  years  ago,  must  be 
relied  upon  for  the  future.  First,  an  evangelical  spirit,  then  educational 
societies,  colleges  and  theological  seminaries. 

We  must  not  over-estimate  the  power  of  education  in  converting  men. 
An  uneducated  man  in  Northern  Missouri,  known  as  Uncle  Jimmie  Lillard, 


82  WESTERN   BAPTIST 

has  baptized  over  two  thousand  during  his  ministry.  He  is  more  an  exhor- 
ter  than  a  preacher.  Yet  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  education  in  the  min- 
istry' and  in  the  people  gives  power  in  the  world,  and  steadfastness  and  per- 
fection in  religious  character.  Says  Neander,  when  speaking  of  the  igno- 
rance of  preachers  and  people  in  the  second  century,  while  admitting  that 
the  Gospel  was  faithfully  preached  and  sincerely  embraced  :  "Christianity 
will  not  long  maintain  itself  in  purity  unless  it  enters  deeply  into  the  intel- 
lectual development  of  the  people."  This  thought  should  be  placed  beside 
one  uttered  by  his  pupil,  D'Aubigne :  'Alas  for  the  land  of  Leibnitz  and 
Humboldt;  a  few  Baptist  preachers,  having  an  experimental  knowledge  of 
the  sin  of  man  and  the  grace  of  God,  are  far  mightier  for  good  to  that 
empire  than  all  her  Olshausens,  Hengstenbergs  and  Strausses." 

Pastors,  above  all  men,  have  a  mission  in  perpetuating  a  union  of  learn- 
ing and  religion,  which,  leavened  by  an  evangelical  spirit  of  progress,  will 
conquer  the  world  for  Chi'ist.  In  this  union  we  may  look  with  bright  hopes 
for  the  future  character,  progress  and  usefulness  of  the  Baptist  denomination. 

The  paper  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Denominational 
Work  in  Education. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Scientific  Education  was  then 
read  by  the  Chairman,  Prof  E.  OLNEY,  of  Michigan,  and  adopted. 

REPORT   OF   COMMITTEE   ON   SCIENTIFIC   EDUCATION. 

The  Committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  subject  of  "  The  Place  of  Scien- 
tific Studies  in  Present  Education,"  and  the  paper  on  this  topic  by  President 
Talbot,  of  Denison  University,  would  enumerate  the  following  propositions, 
as  what  they  consider  to  be  the  opinions  of  our  wisest  and  safest  educators, 
and  as  the  sentiments  of  the  able  and  judicious  paper  submitted  to  us : 

First.  It  is  desirable  that  a  more  thorough  and  extended  course  in  scien- 
tific studies  be  secured  in  our  regular  classical  college  course. 

Secortd.  It  is  not  desirable  that  the  present  courses  in  Latin,  Greek, 
Mathematics,  or  Philosophy  be  abridged  either  in  extent  or  thoroughness. 

Third.  In  order  to  these  ends,  it  is  desirable  and  practicable  to  steadily 
increase  the  requisitions  for  admission  to  the  Freshman  class.  Especially  ia 
this  practicable  in  the  pure  mathematics,  the  elements  of  the  natural  sci- 
ences, and  perhaps  in  the  rudiments  of  the  French  and  German  languages. 

Fourth.  That  for  young  men  generally,  what  is  usually  known  as  the 
regular  classical  course  is  best,  both  for  purposes  of  full  and  symmetrical 
development,  and  as  the  basis  for  special  or  professional  training  and  for 
practical  life. 

Fifth.  That,  in  institutions  whose  resources  will  permit,  it  is  eminently 
wise  to- establish  different  courses,  such  as  the  classical  course,  the  scientific 
course,  the  engineering  course,  etc.,  in  order  to  meet  the  wants  of  specialists, 
made  such  either  from  choice  or  necessity.  But  an  indiscriminate  eclecticism 
is  a  serious  evil. 

Sixth.  That  the  granting  of  the  same  degree  for  these  different  courses, 
and  especially  any  attempt  to  make  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  mean  any- 
thing less  or  different  from  what  it  has  hitherto  represented,  is  to  be  depre- 
cated as  unwise  and  unjust. 

Respectfully  submitted,         Edw.  Olney,  Chairman, 

Amos  N  Currier, 
O.  Howes, 

J.    E.   JOHNSOX, 

Committee. 


EDUCATIONAL  CONVENTION.  83 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Increase  of  the  Ministry  and 
Theological  Education,  was  read  by  the  Chairman,  Rev.  N.  M 
WOOD,  D.D.,  of  Illinois,  as  follows : 

REPORT    OF   THE    COMMITTEE    ON    THE    INCREASE    OF   THE 
MINISTRY  AND  THEOLOGICAL  EDUCATION. 

The  papers  referred  to  this  Committee  on  the  subjects,  "  How  Christian 
institutions  of  higher  learning,  academies,  colleges,  universities  and  theo- 
logical seminaries,  keeping  progress  with  the  growth  of  society,  can  best  be 
built  up  in  the  West,  with  due  regard  always  to  other  necessary  expenditures 
of  money  for  religious  purposes,"  and  "  The  duties  of  Western  Churches 
■with  reference  to  the  perpetuation,  increase  and  education  of  the  ministry," 
were  listened  to  by  the  Committee,  in  common  with  the  Convention,  with 
exceeding  interest ;  and  though  they  do  not  feel  called  upon  to  give  an  indis- 
criminate indorsement  of  every  sentiment  therein  expressW,  they  do  feel  a 
great  satisfaction  in  commending  these  papers  to  the  thoughtful  attention 
of  all  our  brethren  in  the  Churches.  We  do  not  desire  to  occupy  time  or 
space  by  the  further  discussion  of  these  topics  in  this  report.  In  respect  to 
the  increase  of  the  ministry  and  the  facilities  for  theological  education,  your 
Committee  have  no  new  theories  or  plans  to  propose,  and  believe  that  they 
will  have  done  all  that  may  be  expected  of  them  when  they  urge  the  duty  of 
the  Churches  to  pray  the  Lord  of  the  Harvest  that  He  may  send  forth  more 
laborers  into  His  harvest,  and  give  expression  to  their  thorough  conviction 
of  the  wisdom  of  that  policy  which  avoids  the  diffusion  of  strength  in  multi- 
plying schools,  but  rather  concentrates  and  intensifies  effort  upon  the  estab- 
lishment and  endowment  of  a  few  first-class  literary  and  theological  institu- 
tions, centrally  located,   where  such  as  are  called   to  the  ministry  may  be 

suitably  trained  for  the  work. 

N.  M.  Wood, 

E.  Nesbit, 
S.  Tucker, 
D.  P.  Smith, 

F.  A.  Douglas, 

Cotnmittee. 
The  report  was  adopted. 

The  Committe  on  Denominational  Work  in  Education  then 
reported,  through  the  Chairman,  President  G.  W.  NORTHRUP, 
D.D.,  of  Illinois,  as  follows  : 

REPORT    OF    COMMITTEE     ON    DENOMINATIONAL    WORK    IN 

EDUCATION. 

The  Committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  subject  of  Denominational  Work 
in  Education,  beg  leave  to  report  — 

That  the  subject  is  one  whose  claims  upon  the  earnest  and  prayerful  atten- 
tion of  the  denomination,  are  enforced  by  the  weightiest  considerations.  If 
we  consider  the  relation  of  education  to  Christian  civilization,  and  to  the 
growth  and  power  of  our  denomination;  if  we  consider,  also,  the  large  num- 
ber for  whose  intellectual  and  moral  and  religious  training  we  are  specially 
responsible,  and  the  manifold  agencies  to  be  employed  in  awakening  among 
the  people  a  deeper  and  wider   interest  in  education,  and  in  guiding  the 


84  WESTERN   BAPTIST 

interest  thus  awakened  to  the  best  results,  we  are  impressed  with  the  magni- 
tude and  difficulty  of  the  educational  work  with  which  the  providence  of  God 
has  intrusted  us.  As  means  of  accomplishing  this  work,  we  would  particu- 
larly suggest  the  frequent  presentation  of  the  claims  of  education  to  churches 
by  pastors ;  the  public  advocacy  of  the  same  cause  by  educators  of  large  expe- 
rience and  recognized  ability;  greater  use  of  the  press  in  influencing  public 
opinion  upon  educational  questions,  and  united  and  vigorous  organized 
efforts,  under  the  leadership  of  men  of  comprehensive  views  and  practical 
wisdom. 

The  Committee  would  submit  the  following  resolutions  for  adoption  by 
the  Convention : 

(i)  Resolved,  That  we  recognize,  with  gratitude  to  God,  the  indications 
of  a  more  general  and  profound  conviction  of  the  importance  of  Denomina- 
tional Work  in  Education,  as  seen  in  the  desire  of  our  churches  to  be 
informed  on  this  subject  in  all  its  aspects  and  relations;  in  the  public  advo- 
cacy, by  educators  themselves,  of  the  claims  of  high  culture;  in  the  more 
adequate  endowment  of  our  higher  institutions  of  learning,  and  in  the 
organized  efforts  made  to  influence  the  public  mind  aright  in  relation  to  this 
whole  subject. 

(2)  Resolved,  That,  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  the  National  Edu- 
cational Convention,  held  in  Brooklyn,  gave  an  impulse  to  the  work  of 
Denominational  Education,  the  influence  of  which  has  been  felt  in  every  part 
of  the  country,  and  also  that  a  permanent  National  Organization  is  essential 
to  the  highest  efficiency. of  the  efforts  made  to  advance  the  cause  which  we 
here  represent,  we  would  request  the  American  Baptist  Educational  Com- 
mission to  call  another  National  Convention,  to  be  held  at  such  time  and 
place  as  may  be  determined  upon  by  the  Executive  Committee. 

(3)  Resolved,  That  the  interests  of  our  Denominational  Work  in  Educa- 
tion demand  the  existence  of  a  Periodical,  through  which  may  be  brought 
before  the  people  all  important  facts  pertaining  to  the  cause  of  education  in 
the  several  States,  and  the  views  of  the  most  experienced  and  ablest  educa- 
tors as  to  the  means  of  securing  the  highest  prosperity  of  our  various  insti- 
tutions of  learning.  Academies,  Colleges,  and  Theological  Seminaries;  and 
this  Convention  recommend  to  the  Commission  to  take  suitable  means  for 
commencing  the  issue  of  such  a  Periodical  at  the  earliest  practicable  day. 

G.    W.    NORTHRUP, 

J^or  the  Committee. 

Dr.  NORTHRUP  said  that  during  the  past  five  years'  a  great 
progress  had  been  made  in  the  cause  of  education  among  the  Bap- 
tists of  this  country.  And  much  of  this  is  due  to  the  labors  of  the 
Educational  Commission,  of  which  Dr.  Cutting  is  Secretary.  He 
advocated  the  necessity  and  desirableness  of  an  educational  periodi- 
cal. He  said  that  what  was  needed  was  correct  information  brought 
before  the  minds  of  the  people  ;  and  he  wished  to  take  this  opportu- 
nity to  enter  his  protest  against  certain  views  which  had  been 
advanced  by  several  on  the  floor  of  the  Convention,  to  the  effect  that 
people  of  the  West  could  only  be  interested  in  education  by  false 
representations  respecting  the  nature  of  our  institutions.  He 
thought  it  was  a  libel  upon  the  intelligence  of  our  churches  to  say 
that  they  must  have  presented  to  them  something  that   "  sounds 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  85 

large."     He  believed  that  it  was  only  necessary  to  present  the  truth, 
and  present  the  claims  of  higher  education  upon  its  own  merits. 

Dr.  CUTTING  made  some  remarks  on  the  adoption  of  this  report, 
and  in  exposition  of  the  objects  of  the  Educational  Commission,  and 
upon  the  general  subjects  which  had  come  under  discussion  during 
the  sessions  of  this  Convention.  He  said  that  he  supposed  the 
National  Convention,  to  which  allusion  had  been  made,  would  be 
held — probably  in  Philadelphia. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  was  then  adopted. 

Prof.  SHEPARDSON,  of  Ohio,  from  the  Committee  to  which 
had  been  referred  the  paper  of  Dr.  Wayland  on  the  Education  of 
Women,  read  a  report  as  follows  : 

REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

WOMEN. 

The  Committee  to  which  was  referred  the  paper  read  by  Dr.  Wayland, 
of  Franklin  College,  upon  Woman's  Education,  beg  leave  to  report: 

That  we  regard  this  subject  as  one  of  vast  importance  in  carrying  forward 
the  great  work  of  evangelizing  our  race,  and  hail  with  profound  gratitude 
the  interest  it  is  now  everywhere  creating.  Not  only  in  the  United  States, 
but  in  various  nations  of  Europe,  and  even  in  Asia,  the  subject  is  discussed, 
and  schools  for  women  established.  There  are  already  about  fifty  thousand 
females  in  the  schools  of  Hindostan.  Wherever  Christianity  goes,  it  cre- 
ates the  thirst  and  necessity  for  higher  culture  in  woman  as  well  as  in  man. 

In  our  own  country,  the  influence  of  Mrs.  Emma  Willard,  Mary  Lyon  and 
kindred  spirits,  begins  to  be  widely  felt.  Vassar's  princely  gift  marks  an 
era.  Two  individuals  in  Massachusetts,  a  man  and  a  woman,  have  recently 
left  to  this  cause,  in  the  aggregate,  one  million  and  eight  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  Others  will  follow  such  examples.  The  conviction  is  becoming 
deep  and  general,  that  the  God-appointed  teacher  of  our  race  should  herself 
be  educated.  The  world  can  not  afford  longer  to  lose  the  power  of  her 
higher  culture.  The  millions  are  pre-eminently  under  her  influence.  As 
mother  and  teacher,  she  molds  their  characters  in  the  impressible,  forming 
period 

In  literature,  too,  as  well  as  in  the  family  and  the  school-room,  she  is 
making  her  influence  felt.  She  has  recently  borne  off  several  of  the  highest 
premiums  of  our  liberal  publishers.  She  is  receiving  in  this  department,  in 
a  few  instances,  three  and  four  thousand  dollars  per  annum. 

Equal  advantages  are  generally  conceded  to  her  in  the  public  schools  and 
academies.  If  she  has  produced  no  great  work  in  science  or  in  philosophy, 
so  far  as  she  has  had  opportunities  she  has  demonstrated  her  abilities.  In 
our  best  city  schools  she  has  borne  off  her  full  share  of  public  honors.  May 
she  not  now  advance  to  a  higher  culture.'  Does  not  society  need  her  culti- 
vated talents .'' 

Your  Committee  rejoice  in  the  great  work  that  has  been  performed  by 
many  of  our  female  seminaries,  and  earnestly  recommend  that  they  be 
greatly  strengthened  by  more  ample  endowments.  It  is  unjust,  not  to  say 
cruel,  to  continue  to  give  by  millions  for  the  education  of  our  sons,  and  so 


86 


WESTERN    BAPTIST 


little  for  that  of  our  daughters.     In  some  way,  equal  provisions  should  be 
made  for  them. 

The  question  of  joint  education  of  both  sexes  in  college  is  not  one  of  tal- 
ents, morals  or  manners.  There  are  constitutional  differences  that  may  not 
be  ignored,  in  determining  the  precise  conditions  under  which  the  highest 
culture  shall  be  received,  though  the  intellectual  and  moral  nature  of  each  is 
essentially  the  same.  We  see  no  way  in  which  woman  can  receive  a  truly 
liberal  education  in  less  time  or  at  less  expense  than  man.  There  may  be 
great  room  for  an  honest  difference  of  opinion  whether  it  is  best  to  subject 
them  to  the  same  curriculum.  There  may  be  feminine  graces  and  accom- 
plishments, special  aptitudes  and  necessities,  that  require  for  her,  in  her  dif- 
ferent sphere,  to  some  extent  an  elective  course.  This  question  will  be 
settled  by  mature  thought  and  more  extended  observation  and  experience. 
The  demand  of  the  age  is,  that  she  be  no  longer  neglected  and  deprived  of 
the  force,  breadth  and  earnestness  of  Christian  character  which  the  most 
liberal  culture  can  bestow.  The  great  work  now  before  us  seems  to  be,  to 
create  and  foster  more  just,  enlightened  and  Christian  views  on  the  main 
question.  In  this  way  we  can  call  out  a  vast  amount  of  talent  and  means  to 
elevate  the  social  mass  and  evangelize  the  world. 

D.  Shepardson, 

I^of  the   Committee. 


The  report  was  adopted. 

After  a  brief  address  by  Secretary  CUTTING,  the  Convention 
adjourned  with  prayer  by  Rev.  GEO.  W.  HARRIS,  of  Michigan. 


E.  C.  Mitchell, 

Secretary. 


MARK   H.  BUNNELL, 

President. 


SUMMARY   OF   ATTENDANCE. 


VISITORS. 

New  Hampshire 2 

Vermont 2 

Massachusetts 6 

Rhode  Island i 

Connecticut 4 

New  York 13 

New  Jersey 4 

Pennsylvania 2 

South  Carolina 2 

Louisiana i 


Ohio 

Michigan  . 
Indiana... . 
Illinois. . . . 
Missouri.. . 

Iowa 

Wisconsin. 
Minnesota . 
Nebraska  . 
Canada.. . . 


DELEGATES. 

II 

18 

8 

18 

4 

13 

8 

5 


VISITORS. 

8 

6 
12 
58 

3 
17 
H 

3 

I 

3 


Delegates. 
Visitors  . . 


8S 
162 


Total  attendance 247 


EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION.  87 

NOTE, 

AMERICAN    BAPTIST    EDUCATIONAL   COMMISSION. 

It  IS  proper  to  subjoin  to  these  Proceedings  some  account  of  the 
Educational  Commission,  in  whose  operations  the  Western  Baptist 
Educational  Convention  had  its  origin,  and  to  put  this  Convention 
Into  its  proper  historical  connections. 

The  Baptist  Educational  Commission  was  formed  November  20 
and  26,  1867,  and  commenced  its  operations  January  i,  1868.  It 
was  formed  upon  two  distinct  yet  related  conceptions.  First,  that 
the  desires  and  efforts  of  a  limited  number  of  persons  in  the  direction 
of  the  establishment,  endowment,  and  working  of  our  institutions  of 
higher  learning,  were  not  met  by  a  corresponding  popular  interest 
in  education, —  such  an  interest  as  was  required  to  fill  them  with 
students,  and  to  make  them  the  blessings  to  our  families,  to  our 
churches,  and  to  society,  which  they  Vv^ere  intended  to  be.  Second, 
that  the  increase  of  our  ministry,  not  in  respect  to  numbers  alone, 
but  in  respect  to  aggregate  intellectual  force  and  furnishing,  was 
below  the  provisions  made  and  attempted  for  such  increase  in  our 
theological  seminaries,  and  below  the  demands  arising  from  the  con- 
dition and  increase  of  our  churches,  and  the  condition  and  tenden- 
cies of  our  civilization.  It  was  hence  an  organization  to  promote 
both  "  Education  and  the  Increase  of  the  Ministry."  It  was  a  very 
■simple  organization.  It  was  made  up  of  a  few  gentlemen  who 
united  to  sustain,  at  their  own  expense,  an  appeal  for  an  advance  in 
popular  interest  in  higher  education,  and  an  appeal  for  a  ministry 
replenished  and  augmented  according  to  the  necessities  of  the  times 
in  which  we  live.  It  proposed  to  stir  the  popular  mind  and  heart, 
to  spread  enlightenment  in  respect  to  the  value  and  importance  of 
higher  education  itself,  stimulating  the  interest  therein  of  parents  and 
of  pastors,  and  to  awaken  and  sustain  in  our  churches  a  more  pray- 
erful and  earnest  attention  to  the  great  question  of  their  future  min- 
istry. If  it  should  be  successful ;  if  new  thoughts  and  purposes  in 
respect  to  education  should  so  seize  and  hold  our  public  mind  gen- 
erally, creating  a  new  tendency  and  drift ;  if  so  the  question  of  the 
ministry  should  rise  to  its  true  character  as  the  first  question  of  the 
instrumentalities  by  which  the  gospel  is  to  be  spread  and  its  tri- 
umphis  won, —  then,  indeed,  would  our  institutions  be  filled,  and  be 
made  in  character  and  strength  equal  to  every  growing  necessity, 
and  then  would  the  day  of  reward  come  for  the  cast  of  founding  and 
maintaining  them.  It  was,  in  a  word,  an  attempt  to  promote  educa- 
tion from  the  popular  side,  as  an  outgrowth  of  popular  interests  and 
demands,  and  to  promote  the  increase  of  the  ministry  from  the  pray- 
ers of  an  enlightened  and  practical  faith  pervading  the  mass  of  the 
members  of  our  churches. 

The  immediate  occasion  of  the  organization  was  the  remarkable 


88  WESTERN   BAPTIST    EDUCATIONAL   CONVENTION. 

interest  in  these  objects  which  was  awakened  in  the  New  York 
Baptist  State  Convention,  held  at  Poughkeepsie  in  the  autumn  of 
1867,  when  a  committee  was  appointed  to  whom  the  effecting  of 
such  an  organization  was  referred.  This  Commission,  so  formed, 
had  for  its  sphere  of  operations  the  States  of  New  York  and  New 
Jersey,  but  it  was  neither  intended  nor  possible  to  restrict  its  inqui- 
ries, its  labors,  or  its  influence  within  prescribed  boundaries.  It 
contemplated,  indeed,  in  its  constitution  a  possible  enlargement  to 
the  breadth  of  the  denomination.  It  proceeded  to  its  work  by  col- 
lecting facts,  by  appeals  through  the  press,  and  by  the  addresses  and 
correspondence  of  its  Secretary.  It  proved  to  have  struck  a  chord 
which  vibrated  widely.  It  started  at  once  a  new  order  of  discussions 
in  the  press  of  the  denomination,  and  the  information  which  it  gath- 
ered up  and  published  from  every  quarter,  primarily  for  effects  within 
its  own  sphere,  produced  similar  effects  in  remoter  States.  The 
facts  elicited  and  the  questions  discussed  were  of  common  interest, 
and  became  the  more  an  inspiration  and  a  force  by  the  magnitude 
of  the  area  over  which  the  community  of  interest  existed. 

This  common  interest,  so  widely  awakened,  led  to  the  calling  of 
the  National  Baptist  Educational  Convention  which  met  in  Brook- 
lyn in  April,  1870.  At  this  Convention  delegates  from  academies, 
colleges,  theological  seminaries  and  education  societies  in  nineteen 
States  and  the  District  of  Columbia,  were  assembled,  continuing 
their  sessions  through  three  days,  and  discussing  and  taking  action 
upon  a  great  variety  of  topics  relating  to  education.  By  this  Con- 
vention the  Baptist  Educational  Commission  was  requested  to  prefix 
the  word  "  American  "  to  its  name,  and  to  spread  its  work  over  the 
whole  country.  It  was  desired  among  other  things  to  call  local 
conventions  of  similar  character,  and  ultimately  to  summon  another 
National  Convention.  In  pursuance  of  these  recommendations  the 
Commission  proceeded  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  its  operations,  and 
to  call  local  conventions.  The  first  assembled  at  Worcester,  Mass., 
for  New  England,  May  3d  and  4th,  1871.  The  second  was  the 
Western  Baptist  Educational  Convention  whose  proceedings  are 
here  given.  Both  these  Conventions  wei-e  largely  attended,  and  their 
proceedings  indicated  an  encouraging  growth,  alike  in  the  compre- 
hensiveness of  the  views  of  education  jDrevailing  in  the  denomina- 
tion, and  in  the  vigor  and  success  with  which  the  cause  of  education 
is  advanced.  Another  Convention  is  to  be  held  for  the  South,  at 
Richmond,  Va.,  July  4-6,  in  the  present  year,  and  another  still  is 
earnestly  invited  on  the  Pacific  slope.  Besides  all  these,  a  Southern 
Convention,  born  of  the  National  Convention  at  Brooklyn,  and  mod- 
eled after  it,  a  Convention  nnmerously  attended  and  influential,  has 
been  held  during  the  present  year  in  Alabama.  These  are  all  signs 
of  a  living  and  advancing  interest  in  education  which  can  not  perish 
without  enduring  fruits. 


(/A'" 


Index. 


PAGE. 

Roll  of  Visitors  and  Delegates       ------  3 

Organization  and  Order  of  Proceedings          ...             -  6 

Prof.  Stearns'  Paper  on  Academies             .             .             .             -            -  y 

Pres.  Wayland's  Paper  on  the  Education  of  Women              -            -  i8 

Pres.  Talbot's  Paper  on  Scientific  Education        -             -             -             -  29 

Rev.  Dr.  Smith's  Paper  on  Colleges  and  Universities            -            -  38 

Rev.  Dr.  Bulkley's  Paper  on  Progress  in  Higher  Education        -             -  52 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Academies          ...            -  6i 

Pres.  Brooks'  Paper  on  the  Increase  and  Education  of  the  Ministry      -  65 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Colleges  and  Universities         -             -  73 

Rev.  Mr.  Schofield's  Paper  on  the  Pastoral  Work  in  Education             -  75 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Scientific  Education      -             -             -  82 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Increase  of  the  Ministry  and  Theological 

Education           ---_.---  83 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Denominational  Work  in  Education  -  83 

Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  Education  of  Women    -            -            -  85 

Summary  of  Attendance             .-.-._  86 

Note  —  American  Baptist  Educational  Commission        -            -            -  87 


THE   STANDARD, 

A  Religious  and  Family  Newspaper. 

Is  the   Baptist    Organ  for  Michigan-,  Indiana,  Illinois,    Wisconsin,  Iowa, 
Minnesota,  Katisas  and  Nebraska. 

REV.  J.    A.    SMITH,    D.D.,    Editor-in-Chief. 
CIRCULATION    18,000. 

As  a  MQdmm  for  Advertising,  none  better  in  the  "West. 


RATES    OF    ADVERTISING: 

Advertisements  per  line,  (solid  agate),      -  -  -  -        20  cts. 

One  Square,  (8  lines  solid  agate),  for  each  insertion,     -  -        $1  60    " 

Special  Business  Notices,  per  line,  each  insertion,  -  -  -         30   " 

Fourteen  lines  of  Agate  occupy  one  inch.     Cuts  two  prices.     Double 

columns  add  50  per  cent 
Every  other  week  advertisements  ten  per  cent  extra. 
One  column  contains  296  lines  solid  agate. 

A    DEDUCTION    OF    20   PER   CENT.    MADE    ON   ADVERTISEMENTS    INSERTED   FOR 

THREE    MONTHS. 

CHURCH    &    GOODMAN, 

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Publishers  and  Proprietors. 

LAKESIDE 

COMPANY. 


LARGEST    PRINTING    ESTABLISHMENT 

in   the   west. 


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Manager. 


CHICAGO. 


special    attention    given  to  the  Printing    of   Educational 

"Works,  University  and  College  Catalogues, 

Etc.,  Etc.,  Etc. 


lilt  Baptist  ^nian  ^ideological  BtminnxQ^ 


CHICAGO,    ILLINOIS. 


Instructors. 

Rev.   G.  "W.   NORTHRUP,   D.D.,  president  and  professor  of  christian 

THEOLOGY. 

Rev.  a.  N.ARNOLD,  D.D.,  professor  op  new  testament  literature  and 

INTERPRETATION. 

Rev.  E.  C.  MITCHELL,  D.D.,  professor  of  hebrew  and  old  testament 

LITERATURE. 

Rev.  R.  E.  PATTISON,  D.D.,  professor  of  biblical  interpretation  ano 
history  op  doctrines. 

.  professor  of  hoahletics  and  church  history. 

The  duties  of  this  department  are  performed,  for  the  present,  by  the  professors  of  the  other 
departments. 

The  Union  Seminary  for  the  Northwest. 

This  is  the  Baptist  Union  Theological  Seminar}^  for  the  Northwest,  designed 
equally  for  the  benefit  of  every  part  of  this  great  field,  each  State  having  equal 
privileges  and  advantages.  Its  name  does  not  inipl}'  a  union  of  different  denom- 
inations, but  a  union  of  Baptists  in  several  surrounding  States  in  founding  and 
conducting  it.  The  Charter  of  the  Baptist  Theological  Union  provides  that 
"  No  person  shall  be  a  trustee  who  is  not  a  member  of  a  regular  Baptist  church." 

One  Central  Theological  Seminary  will  attract  a  higher  order  of  ability  in  its 
chairs  of  instruction,  and  a  much  larger  number  of  students  than  any  merely 
local  Institution.  Teachers  and  students  will  be  stimulated  to  higher  attainments 
by  the  presence  and  friction  of  numerous  minds,  while  superior  buildings,  library, 
ftnd  other  appliances  can  be  afforded  them.  Only  by  such  united  effort  can  we  be 
prepared  to  honor  the  ministerial  drafts  which  the  regions  still  further  West  will 
present  to  us  iu  the  hastening  future. 


This  is  the  only  Baptist  Institution  between  the  Allegliany  Mountains  an!i 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  which  is  exclusivtly  devoted  to  the  education  of  ministers  of 
tlie  gospel. 

Its   Location. 

It  is  located  at  Chicago,  in  the  centre  of  the  Northwest,  surrounded  by  a 
population  of  twelve  millions  of  people  — » a  field  increasing  in  population  more 
rapidly  than  any  other  part  of  the  world,  and  in  which  this  Seminary  has  the 
grandest  of  opportunities  for  doing  good  to  the  present  and  to  future  generations. 

When  Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Missouri,  Iowa  and 
Minnesota,  are  settled  as  densely  as  Massachusetts  now  is,  they  will  contain 
seventy-one  millions  of  people,  or  more  than  the  entire  population  of  Great 
Britain  and  France.  And  when  the  Mississippi  valley,  reacliing  from  tlie  Alle- 
gliany to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  is  settled  as  densely  as  the  most  of  Europe  is,  it 
will  contain  more  than  three  hundred  millions. 

What  Has  Been  Done. 

The  Seminary  has  been  in  full  operation  since  Oct.  2, 1867.  It  is  located  near 
the  University  of  Chicago,  but  is  an  entirely  separate  Institution,  and  under  a 
separate  cliarter. 

The  Seminary  Building  is  214  feet  in  length,  and  was  finished  Julv  1st,  1869, 
costing  $60,000.     The  building,  ground  and  furniture  are  valued  at  $90,000. 

In  the  first  four  years  it  has  had  over  eighty  students,  twenty-four  of  whom 
were  ordained  ministers  when  they  entered  the  Seminary.  About  five  hundred 
persons  have  been  converted  and  baptized  in  connection  with  the  labors  of  the 
students  while  they  were  prosecuting  their  studies. 

Besides  raising  the  means  to  pay  for  the  building,  ground,  furniture,  and  the 
current  expenses  thus  far,  and  also  providing  for  a  large  numtier  of  beneficiaries, 
good  progress  has  been  made  towards  the  endowment  of  the  Seminary,  a  work 
which  should  be  speedily  completed. 

The  Endowment  Fund. 

Tuition  in  the  Seminary  is  free.  To  support  the  teachers  we  must  have  an 
Endovmient  Fund,  to  be  kept  permanently,  and  the  interest  of  it  used  for  this 
purpose.  This  Fund  we  are  now  raising,  chiefly  by  notes  payable  at  any  time 
within  five  years,  the  interest  to  be  paid  annually.  Can  you  not  aid  in  the 
Endowment  Fund  by  giving  your  note,  payable  in  one,  two,  three  or  five  years? 

Your  contribution  to  the  Endowment  Fund  will  remain  and  be  doing  good  to 
the  rising  ministry  long  after  you  have  passed  away.  Would  you  not  like  to  place 
part  of  your  possessions  where  they  will  confer  blessings  upon  your  fellow  men 
for  ages  to  come?    It  is  an  object  worthy  of  special  prayer  and  effort. 

Beneficiary  Fund. 

The  Theological  Union  is  aiding  many  of  the  students  to  pay  their  board  and 
other  expenses  while  in  the  Seminary.  They  could  not  continue  their  studies 
without  this  aid.    For  this  purpose  we  need  immediate  contributions. 

Life  Membership. 

A  donation  of  Thirty  Dollars  will  constitute  you  a  Life  Member  of  the  Theo- 
logical Union,  which  founds  and  conducts  this  Tlieological  Seminary.  Can  you 
not  make  yourself  and  all  your  family  Life  Members,  by  paying  it  down  or  giving 
your  note  ? 

Direction. 

Any  contribution  for  the  Theological  Seminary  may  be  sent  by  mail  or  by 
express,  directed  to  me  at  the  Baptist  Union  Theological  Seminarj',  Chicago,  111. 

G.   S.   BAILEY, 

Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Tlieological  Union. 
March  25th,  1871. 


Kalamazoo  College. 

THE    FALL    TERM 

Begins  on  Wednesday  morning,  September  6. 

EXAMINATIONS   FOR   ADMISSION 

Are  held  on  Tuesday,  September  j.    Candidates  should  present  themselves  at  9  o'clock  a.m., 
in  No.  6  of  the  Lower  Buikliiiji;. 

There  are  three  courses  of  instruction,  each  of  which  extends  through  four  years.  The  first, 
the  Classical  Course  includes  the  Latin  and  Greek  Languages,  and  all  the  studies  ordinarily 
pursued  in  the  best  Colleges.  The  second,  designated  as  the  Latin  and  Scientific  Course, 
includes  every  study  in  the  Classical  Course,  except  Greek.  The  third,  the  Scientific  Course, 
omits  both  Latin  and  Greek.  There  is  also  opportunity,  in  the  first  and  second  courses,  to  omit 
Mathematics  after  the  first  term  of  the  Sophomore  year. 

THE   PREPARATORY   DEPARTMENT 

Has  competent  teachers,  and,  like  the  College,  receives  both  sexes  to  an  equal  share  in  its 
instructions. 

THE    REGULAR   EXPENSES, 

Whether  in  the  College  or  in  the  Preparatory  Department,  are  as  follows : 

Tuition  in  any  Department         -        -        -        •        -      f6  00  per  term. 
Incidentals,  including  use  of  Library       -        -         -         2  50  '' 

Room  Rent $4  0Ot0  50O  " 

A  Matriculation  Fee  of  Five  Dollars  is  to  be  paid  on  first  entering  the  College  classes. 
For  further  information  address 

KENDALL    BROOKS, 

Kalamazoo.  Mich.,  President. 

June  30,   1 87 1. 


Almira  College 


IS 


EXCLUSIVELY  FOR  YOUNG    LADIES, 

With  a  course  of  study  and  system  of  instruction  designed  to 
meet  the  spirit  and  demands  of  the  age  in  conferring  on  woman  a 

THOROUGH  AND  ACCOMPLISHED  EDUCATION. 

Its  school  property  is  worth  over  $100,000;  belongs  to  the  Baptist 
Denomination  ;  and  agencies  are  at  work  to  place  it  among  the 
most  favored  institutions. 

For  Circulars  and  Catalogues  address 

REV.  JOHN  B.  WHITE, 

Greenville,  III. 


ADAMS,  BLACKMER  &LTON  PUB.  CO.,  Arcade,  Chicago. 


YOU  OUGHT  TO  SEE  THE 

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AND   THE    NATIONAL 

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ON 

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Every  Number  will  be  Illustrated, 
Two  Pages  of  Music  in  each  Number. 

The  Primary  Lessons  will  be  conducted  by 
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The  best  writers  will  be  employed  —  Every  num- 
ber will  be  excellent. 

The  National  Series  of  Sunday-School  Lessons, 
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pressed, as  regards  both  the  words  and  music.  It 
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of  Sabbath-Schools ;  to  the  wants  of  Teachers' 
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price.  Single  copies,  25  cents;  fifty  copies,  $11.00; 
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EOai^ESTON'S 

Sunday-School  Record. 

In  making  this  book,  Mr.  Eggleston  has  sought 
to  combine  all  tlie  items  necessary  to  be  kept  in  a 
Sunday-School  Record,  with  brevity  and  simplicity 
of  arrangement. 

The  book  contains  about  208  pages,  bound  in  a 
substantial  manner.     Price  $1.00.    Sent  by  mail. 


MR,  BLAKE'S  WALKIN9 ITIGK. 

By  Rev.  Edvjard  Egffleston,  D.D., 

Editor  of  the  National  Sunday-School  Teacher,  au- 
thor of  "The  Round  Table  Stories,"  "  The  Chicken 
Little  Stories,"  "  Stories  Told  on  a  Cellar  Door," 
etc.,  etc. 

Mr.  Eggleston  is  widely  known  as  a  most  success- 
ful and  gifted  writer  for  children,  and  ''MR. 
BLAKE'S  walking  STICK"  is,  without  doubt,  the 
most  delightful  story  that  has  come  from  his  pen. 
It  is  specially  adapted  to  use  in  Sunday-School  as  a 
present  from  teacher,  or  parent,  or  friend,  to  a  boy 
or  girl. 

PRICE  :-  On  paper,  beautifully  illuminated,  25 
cents.     By  the  dozen,  $2.00.     Sent  by  mail. 

THE    INFANT   CLASS: 

HINTS  on  PRIMARY  RELIQIOUS  INSTRUCTION 

By  Sara  y.   Tim  anus. 

Edited,  with  an  introduction,  by  Edward  Eggleston, 

Editor  of  The  National  Sunday-School  Teacher. 

Sent  by  Mail  for  75  cents. 

JUST  WHAl   YOU  NEED  I 


The  Sunday-School  Teacher's 

Pocket  Book  and  Diarjr, 

1871. 

Containing  Class  Register,  Attendance  Register, 
Collection  Register,  and  Diary,  Jewish  Calendar, 
Tables  of  Weights,  Measures,  Money,  etc.,  Calen- 
dar of  Lessons,  and  Calendar  of  1871. 


Sunday  School  Manual. 

By  Rev.  Edward  Egsrleston,  D.D. 

A  Practical  Guide  to  the  Sunday-School  Work  in 
all  its  departments.  The  most  Pointed,  Complete, 
and  Practical  work  for  Sunday-School  Teachers 
and  Officers  ever  published  in  this  or  any  other 
country.  Price  75  cents,  in  paper  cover,  30  cents. 
Sent  by  Mail  on  receipt  of  price.  For  sale  by  all 
Booksellers. 

We  have  read  this  little  volume  through,  every 
word  of  it,  and  have  not  found  a  sentence  or  senti- 
ment which  we  could  willingly  spare.  It  should 
be  included  in  every  teacher's  library,  and  tested  by 
actual  experience. —  Indtpendeiit. 


THE    BOOK    OF 

Queer   Stories. 

By  Edward  Eggleston. 

Author    of    "The  Round    Table    Stories,"  "The 

Chicken  Little  Stories,"  "  Stories  Told  on  a 

Cellar  Door,"  Etc.,  Etc. 

lamc,  cloth.    Price,  75  cts. 


ADDRESS, 

ADAMS,  BLACKMER  &  LYON  PUB.  CO.,  ARCADE,  CHICAGO. 


NO.  110  DEARBORN  STREET,  CHICAGO.  ILL. 


THE    LEADING     BAPTIST    PUBLISHING     AND     THEOLOGICAL     BOOK 

HOUSE   OF   THE   WEST. 


Having^  on  hand,  and  unsurpassed  facilities  for  procuring,  all  Theological,  Text,  School, 
and  Standard  works,  I  am  prepared  to  offer  GREAT  ADVANTAGES  to  Professors  and 
schools  to  order  from  me. 

Representing,  as  I  do,  the  only  Baptist  Publishing  House  in  the  West,  it  :s  my  desire  to 
secure  as  large  a  portion  of  the  Baptist  trade  as  possible,  and  make  this  the  leading  house  in 
the  United  States. 

Everything  that  is  desired  for  SEMINARY,  CHURCH,  or  SABBATH-SCHOOL,  can 
be  procured  here  on  the  most  favorable  terms. 

Our  publications  are  among  the  best  in  the  country,  some  of  which  are : 

LIFE   AND  THOUGHTS   OF   FOSTER.      By  \V.  \V.  Everts,   D.D.      Sixth    Edition. 
i2mo.     Extra  cloth.  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -        $1.50 

Robert  Hall  said  Foster's  writings  were  a  lumber-wagon  loaded  with  gold.    Amid  so 

much  baser  literature,  why  not  select  and  read  the  better  books? 

CHRISTIAN  WOMANHOOD;  Life  of  Mrs.  M.  K.  Everts.  With  an  Introduction  by 
W.  W.  Everts,  D.D.     Extra  cloth,  bevel  boards,  i2mo.         ....        $1.50 

MANHOOD ;  Its  Duties  AND  Responsibilities.    By  W.  W.  Everts,  D.D.    i2mo.       1.00 

THE  THEATRE.     By  W.  W.  Everts,  D.D. .25 

TEMPTATIONS  OF  CITY  LIFE.     By  W.  W.  Everts,  D.D.  ...  .25 

THE  BAPTISTS  EXAMINED  ;  or.  Common  Sense  on  Baptism  and  Communion. 
Being  Fireside  Conversations  on  Baptism;  Close  Communion,  and  the  Baptists,  by  a 
Presbyterian  and  a  Methodist.  By  Rev.  J.  B.  Peat,  author  of  "The  Bible  and  Pedobap- 
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i2mo.     Cloth,  -  •  -  -  .  -  -  -  -  -  -         $1.50 

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a  sipiile  and  instructive  parable.  We  were  never  more  hearty  in  commending  any  book;  its 
theme,  its  style,  its  spirit,  all  win  our  admiration."— iZ*7>.  C.  H.  Sptirgeon  in  the  Sword  and 
Trozvel. 

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Above  Works  mailed  to  any  address  on  receipt  of  the  retail  price  by  the  Publisher. 

HEIVRY    A.    SXJJMP^ER, 

No.  110  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago,  111. 


I  r  1 


yp4i\/E^ifY  Of  c^mk^p, 


The  Univer!>ity  embraces  the  following  Departments  and  Courses  of 
Study  : 

I.    LA  If    DEI'AJiTMENT. 

P-ACULTY. 

Hon.  henry  BOOTH,  LL.D.,  Real  Estate,  Pleading  and  Evidence. 

JOHN  ALEX.   HL'NTER,  Esc^,  International  and  Constitutional  Law  and 
Equitv  lurisprudence. 

VAN   BUREN   DENSLOW,  Esc^.,   Contracts,  Commercial   Law,   and  Do- 
mestic Relations. 

Gen.  R.  BH)DLE  ROBERTS,  Criminal  Law. 

The   Course    occupies    two    years,   begmning  the    third  Wednesday  in 

September. 

Expenses:     $75  per  year;  graduating  fee,  $10. 

II.    THE  COLLEGE. 

Three  separate  courses  are  oftered  to  the  option  of  the  student : 

1.  The  Classical  Course,  corresponding  with  that  of  the  most  advanced 
Eastern  Colleges. 

2.  The  Scientific  Course,  omits  the  Greek  language  altogether,  with  but 
a  small  amount  of  Latin,  and  substitutes  French,  German,  and  Scientific 
studies. 

3.  Special  Course,  including  the  option  of  Chemistry,  Astronomy,  Civil 
Engineering,  or  any  study  of  the  other  courses. 

III.    ACADEMY. 

A  school  of  preparation  of  College,  with  general  academical  studies. 

The  buildings  and  situation,  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan,  are  unsur- 
passed in  beauty,  convenience  and  healthfulness.  Apparatus  includes  the 
great  Clarke  Telescope,  the  largest  refractor  in  the  country;  Chemical,  Phi- 
losophical, and  Engineering  Instruments,  Cabinets,  etc.  Libraries,  25,000 
volumes. 

Expenses  :  Board,  $2.50  to  $4.00  per  week.  Tuition,  $50  a  year.  Total 
necessary  expenses,  $200  to  $250.  Money  is  loaned  or  given  to  young  men 
who  lack  means  to  pursue  their  studies.     Address, 

J.  C.  BURROUGHS,  President. 


Republic  Life  Jnsurance  (^o. 


CAPITAL  STOCK,  $5,000,000. 

20  per  cent,  paid;  over  threc-fifthft  taken. 


JOHN   V.   FARVVELL,  Pres't. 
ORREN  E.  MOORE,  Secy. 


This  Company 
possesses  special 
attractions  f  o  r 
reliable  Agents 
-'.•lio  -vish  to  main, 
tain  their  repU' 
tation  ;  in  its  loiv 
rates  ;  its  simple 
policies,  leaving 
no  roo7n  for  niis- 
representation  : 
in  its  plajts  for 
securing  local  /«- 


A    W.  KELLOGG,  Vice  Prest. 
PAUL  CORNELL,  2D  Vice  Pres't. 


fluence ;  in  i  t  s 
loans;  its  large 
capital;  in  its 
I'/isiness  p  r  i  ?i  - 
ciples ;  its  suc- 
cess fit  I  mana- 
gers, and  in  the 
-vide  connections 
already  secured. 
"  So  much  insur- 
ance for  so  muck 
money,"  is  the 
coining  plan. 


t"s  building. 
CENTRAL  OFFICE,  161  and  163  LaSALLE  ST.,  CHICAGO. 


DIRECTORS : 


John  V.  Farwell,  John  V.  Farwell  &  Co., 

l)rv  Goods. 
\V.  T.  Allen,  Day.  Allen  &  Co.,  Grocers. 
Paul  Cornell,  South  Park  Commissioner. 
Chauncey   T.    Bowen,   Bowen    Bros.,    Keal 

Estate,  etc. 
Leonard  Swett,  Atty,  and  President  Lamar 

Fire  Ins.  Co.  ] 

W.vi.  Bross,  Chicago  Tribune.  \ 

Hon.  Chas.  B.  F.^rwell,  John  V.  Far\vell  &; 

Co.,  Dry  Goods.  | 

F.  D.  Gray,  Gray  Bros.  &  Phelps,  Grocers. 
Henry   W.    King,    Henry   \V.   King    &   Co., 

Wholesale  Clothing. 
C.  M.  Henderson,  C.  M.  Henderson  &  C-o., 

Boots  and  Shoes. 

A.  W.    Kellogg,    late    Sec'y   Northwestern 
Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co. 

B.  F.  Allen,  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

C.  N.  Paine,  Oshkosh,  Wis. 

S.  A.  Kent,  A.  E.  Kent  &  Co.,  Provisions,  etc. 


Anson  Stager,  Supt.  W.  U.  Telegraph  Co. 
Walter  S.  Carter,  Carter  k  Becker,  Att'ys. 
I.  N.  Hardin,  Cushman  &  Hardin,  Bankers. 
T.  M.  Avery,  Lumber,  and  Pres't  Elgin  Watch 

Co. 
C.  M.  Cady,  Root  &  Cady,  Music  Dealers. 
A.  C.  Hesing,  Prop.  Illinois  Staaix  Zeitung. 
H.A.  Hurlbut.  Hurlbut  &  Edsall,  Drugs,  etc. 
Geo  C.  Smith,  President  Nat'l  Loan  andTrust 

Company  Bank. 
A.   B.  Meeker,  Coal  and  Iron,  and  President 

loliet  Iron  Works. 
Tesse  W,  Fell,  Normal,  111. 
Hon.  Geo.  Greene,  Pres't  I.  4  M.  R.  R.  Co., 

Cedar  Rapids,  la. 
Hon.    Geo.    Opdyke,    Geo.    Opdykc    &    Co.. 

Bankers,  New  York. 
Edward  E.  Eames,  of  H.   B.  Claflin  & 

New  York. 
Hon.  Wm.  B.  Ogden.  New  York. 


Co., 


MEDICAL    BOAHD: 

X     S.  DAVIS.  M.D.    [H.  WEBSTIiR  JONES,  M.D.     CHAS.  GILMAN  SMITH,  M.D. 

MANAGEBS   OF  BKAICCH   OFFICES: 

Bowman  &  Lassing,  Managers    NEW  YORK  BRANCH. 

J.  Henry  S.mythe,     Manager    PHILADELPHIA    " 

Keener  &  Rhktt,      Managers BALTI.MORE 

Henry  W.  George,  Manager    CINCINNATI 


Chas.  A.  Fenn, 
P.  C.  Hale, 

W.  L.  PiLLSBfRY, 

Sanford  &  Kent, 

Wm.  Goodnow, 

T.  E.  D.  McGiNLEY, 

J.  W.  GOWDY, 

F.  W.   BUTTEKFIELD, 


ST.  LOUIS 

.MILWAUKEE 

BLOOMINGTON 

Managers DES  MOINES 

Manager,   ATLANTA 

LAFAYETTE 

EVANSVILLE 
KANSAS  CITY 


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